3o 
THE CRISIS, 



OR 



LAST TRUMPET 

FOR 

POPFLAB PUBLIC OPINION, 

EITHER IN CHURCH OR STATE. 



BY ELISHA PUTNAM. 




r 

ALBANY : 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 

1847. 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 028323 






PREFACE. 

No small part of the following work will be occupied with 
the prophetic parts of the Divine Oracles, as to prophecy 
and promise ; ever bearing in mind the distinction be- 
tween prophec) r already fulfilled, and prophecy fulfilling ; 
for without we regard this distinction, we may be groping 
in the dark. For it happens in regard to some of the more 
important subjects of prophecy (at least it has been my 
case), that we have not so much to learn as to unlearn, 
as the traditions of men have, in some respects, rendered 
void the Word of God. Prophetic scripture, and all scrip- 
ture, must be adjudged of by its context and general 
scope ; for example, when it speaks of a man, we under- 
stand a being who possesses a spiritual soul, dwelling in 
a mortal body. The chief commands and promises of 
scripture are addressed to his spiritual part ; but that does 
not prove that the soul will not be hereafter manifested in 
a body, any more than it proves that it is not now in the 
body. When, therefore, we use the word soul, for man, 
we include his body, as a matter of course ; for who would 
suppose, that because it is written, that Abraham took 
Sarah and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance 
that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten 
in Haran, and they went forth to go into the land of Ca- 
naan ; who, I say, would conclude that they took only the 
spirits of those persons, and left their bodies behind ? 

Now apply this principle to the things of God, which, 
we have seen, is the city, the New Jerusalem, the Holy 
Mountain. If, then, the whole stress of practical religion 
rests upon scriptural predictions, yet unfulfilled to the 
church, I would ask whether prophecy be not, in its varied 
details, the great theme of hope and of consolation to the 
whole Christian Church? Whether a single motive to 



IV PREFACE. 

exertion, a single reference to responsibility, a single 
solace to misfortune, a single excitement to infirmity, can 
be brought to bear upon the understanding and the will, 
but through the medium of unfulfilled prophecy ? 

May the Gracious Redeemer bless this feeble effort, to 
the increase of scriptural knowledge, the benefit of his 
own church, and the good of every one who may read it. 

E. PUTNAM. 

Albany, June 1, 1847. 



NOTE. 
One important object with the author, has been to induce a more 
thorough search of the scriptures, at least among professors ; for it 
has been my painful experience this twenty years past, that the Bible 
has been the last and least read of any work or print in the world : 
And therefore the following queries were put to those who had read 
the manuscript : 

1. Is not tin" following work well calculated to beget a greater love 
and veneration for the word of God, as the only infallible rule of faith 
and practice ? Answer, I think it is. 

2. To lead the inquiring christian to a more diligent search of the 
scriptures, like the noble Bereans, to see whether those things be so 
or not? Ans. Yes. 

3. To lead to reflection, meditation, and prayer for divine teaching? 
Ans. Yes. 

4. To promote watchfulness, preparation, and practical piety ? 
Ans. Yes. 

And further says : 
" I am well acquainted with the Author, and have read the most 
of his manuscripts. They have all been pencilled out after he passed 
the age of eighty-one years ; and they are written with an excellent 
spirit, giving a reason of the hope that is in him in meekness, and 
also abundance of scripture testimony is quoted." 

Rev. P. BULLIONS. 

" To the last paragraph of this paper, I assent with the greatest 
pleasure." Rev. J. N. CAMPBELL. 

" Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." 

Proverbs xvi. 13. 



POSTSCRIPT. 

If we turn to the foregoing Note, we shall perceive that the 
Author has had eighty years experience in this sinful conflicting" 
world; and if the reader will examine the appendix to this work, 
he will see something of that experience. Up to the present time, 
the author has had no cause to retract what he has written. His 
greatest grief, on reflection, is that he is to leave the world so 
much more apostate from God, than it was when he entered it, 
among the puritans of New-England, eighty-three years since. 

E. PUTNAM. 

Albany, October 20, 1847. 



THE CRISIS. 



CHAPTER I, 



PRESENT AND FUTURE STATE OF THE CHURCH. 

Do not the scriptures clearly represent the three following points ? 
1. That the cause of God and righteousness has been, hitherto, 
a depressed and militant cause upon earth ; and that, from the 
fall of Adam up to the present hour, the whole world lieth in 
wickedness. 2. That a time is coming, when true religion will 
be ascendant and triumphant; and that the kingdoms of this 
world will then become the kingdom of our Lord and of his 
Christ. 3. That before the final close of God's dispensations 
in this world, his almighty power will interpose and separate 
between the righteous and the wicked. 

Without aiming to be wise above what is written, I would 
just observe, upon a general review of these scripture statements, 
how admirably the whole is fitted to display the wonders of the 
divine administration, so that " unto the principalities and powers 
in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold 
wisdoni of God." Man's eventful history displays the field on 
which the powers of light and of darkness contend for victory. 
In the first scene, righteousness and unrighteousness appear in 
conflict, while the latter holds the ascendant; in the second, the 
same powers are engaged, but their places arc changed, and 
righteousness becomes the ruling principle : the last scene dis- 
plays the final and utter expulsion of evil, when the gates of thai 
celestial city are opened, into which nothing that defileth can 
1 



THE CRISIS. 



enter, but they only whose names are written in the Lamb's 
book of life. 

Isaiah lx., lxi.; Dan. ii. 44 ; vii. 14, 18, 22, 27; and from 
other parallel passages of the scripture, it will appear that there 
is a time coming, when the God of heaven shall set up a king- 
dom on this earth, which shall never be destroyed, but it shall 
break in pieces all other kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 
Now, according to the word of God, there is to be a righteous 
government or administration over the whole earth. This govern- 
ment is outward and visible in its nature; and as it is opposed 
to those governments which are to be destroyed, so it is to take 
their place. 

Now, my dear friend, will you for once lay aside all preju- 
dice, prepossession, bigotry, the dogmatism and the tradition of 
men, and carefully and candidly weigh and consider well what 
those holy men of God have written, " who spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost," while I, in a few particulars, en- 
deavour to exhibit the contrast between this righteous, and these 
unrighteous governments. Let us try, in the fear of God, to 
make a scriptural application to each. In the first scene, we will 
endeavour to portray that which history and experience will fully 
corroborate and confirm, up to the present period, that the god 
of this world, the prince of darkness, rules in and over the hearts 
of the children of this world; that his influence predominates over 
all the empires of this world. 

I have heard from both professors and non-professors, again 
and again, that, when they went to the polls to vote for a candi- 
date, they had nothing to do with God; they had nothing to do 
with the moral character of their candidate; that they would as 
soon vote for an infidel as for the best christian in the country. 
These things I have seen and heard, and these things have been 
done, and are still doing, by an overwhelming majority of both 
professors and non-professors : they have one mind and one 
purse. By such means they keep this mighty machine in motion 
for the extension and perpetuation of slavery, and every abomina- 
tion in the land; so that the spirit of infidelity is to be found 
worming its way to its last consummation. For it is not the 
nominal christian that, by his name and profession, excludes the 
essence of antichrist. The clergy have become so infected and 
infatuated with the love of fame, of popular honor, that they 
have not heeded the apostle's admonition (Rom. xi. 18, 20); 
but they have become high-minded; they claim pre-eminence > 



STATE OF THE CHURCH. 3 

as though they would rather reign on the earth, in this world, as 
potentates, without Christ, than to reign with Christ, the glorious 
King and Head of the church. Does not this key unlock many 
mysteries ? 

True national glory and honour, we believe, are comprehended 
in righteousness; that grace or quality, both in rulers and people, 
and that only, which exalteth a nation; while sin and rebellion 
against God is both a reproach and the ruin of all nations ; for 
it is said of the wicked, they shall be turned into hell, and all the 
nations that forget God; and it is said, also, of that nation which 
is exalted by righteousness, " I will make thee (speaking of the 
Jewish nation) an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 
Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the 
alien shall be your ploughmen and vine-dressers; but ye shall 
eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast 
yourselves. " Will any one inform me whether these times be 
past, present, or future ? and, also, what nation on earth has yet 
been made "an eternal excellency? a joy of many generations?" 
It will be remembered this was spoken of a nation on earth, in a 
national character; for in heaven above there are no ploughmen 
or vine-dressers, or feeding of flocks, in the proper sense of the 
term. In heaven, there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, 
male or female. The scene described by the prophet is evidently 
on the earth. This is no question of party politics; for all parties 
are alike guilty before God, in their individual character : all 
are Sabbath-breakers, all are covetous together, all seeking their 
own and not the things of Christ. They are charging the gathering 
cloud with additional vengeance, to spread wider desolation when 
it shall burst. A stream of wickedness is going up, day by day, 
and Sabbath after Sabbath : it cries to God for vengeance, al- 
though he is still patient. 

1. All the national glory and honour of this period is in- 
separable from unrighteousness; for all national honours are only 
the grand prizes of political success; and whether combination 
or opposition be traced in the various wheels of this mighty 
machine, it is self that supplies the moving power of all . Interest 
or vanity compose the mainsprings. Principle is outraged; friend- 
ship violated; truth disregarded; consistency scoffed at; envy, 
hatred, and malice are inspired into the rival pretenders to the 
prizes, and pride into their triumphant possessors. Deceit and 
fraud, dishonesty and dishonour, are in the way to loftiness and 
tyranny; luxury and self-indulgence are at the end; and the man. 



4 THE CRISIS. 

who would talk of disinterested patriotism, in any other way than 
with a sneer at the hypocrisy of the pretension, would be con- 
sidered more fit for transportation to some barbarous clime, than 
for an election to any post of honour or responsible trust. 

2. The national glory, at the present time, consists with in- 
fidelity. The man who is an infidel, may be a glorious President, 
a glorious general or admiral, a glorious statesman. Men of any 
creed or no creed are alike eligible to national honour and glory, 
even in this christian land, where the church uniformly approves 
of it, by their right of suffrage, by which the members of all 
the churches declare that they make no distmction in the moral 
character of any candidate for oiiice. And of such a nature is 
this national glory, that its richest laurels may entwine a brow, 
within which the fear, or even the existence of God, has ceased 
to produce a single serious reflection; whose bosom has never 
felt an emotion of love towards him, who gave his life to save 
the sinner. 

3. The national glory at the present time is inseparably con- 
nected with the practice of war, and all the wretchedness and 
misery consequent thereon. It opens various pretexts to the am- 
bitious despots for aggression : it supplies various examples for 
imitation, arraying in their train the thousand kindling spirits, 
ardent to vindicate the nation's glory. Hence duels, bloodshed 
and murder. Hence the voice of mourning in the land — the 
widow's tear, the orphan's cry. An appalling case occurred re- 
cently at the seat of government, where a Belshazzar feast was 
held by a great concourse of the nobility of the land, met on 
board of a ship of war, that they might glorify themselves, and 
the nation be glorified by them, in bidding defiance to all other 
powers on earth ; and while in the height of their heated political 
frenzy, a number of the members of the cabinet fell a sacrifice 
to one of their own weapons of war. Here was indeed a cause of 
lamentation and sorrow, both to the widow and orphan. I know 
not whether any of the clergy were among them, but I suspect 
they were, for they are in the habit of officiating at such celebra- 
tions, even among Papists and Freemasons, or what is now called 
the Society of Odd Fellows; and this is a specimen, and no small 
part of the Christianity of the age, or rather of those who make 
a profession of Christianity, and those who hold a controlling 
influence both in church and slate. 

4. Now, I think it will not be denied that such has been the 
government or administration of all the kingdoms and empires 



STATE OF THE CHURCH. O 

of the world, since the fall of man; thai unrighteousness has ever 
had the ascendant, with the exception of a brief period of the 
Jewish nation, while God was their king, in the time of Samuel. 

Let us now, for a little, view the other side of the picture; 
what is promised in the word of God, and what we have a full 
warrant to believe will yet take place on this earth. Am I not 
warranted in saying, that there is now no christian or righteous 
nation on earth; nor ever has been since the sceptre departed 
from Judah, and the Jews were dispersed through the earth; and 
that there never will be a christian or righteous nation, until they 
are restored again to the church of Christ, and their own land ? 
If they are not again to be restored as a nation of true believers 
to their own land, given to them by covenant with Abram, and 
to his seed forever and ever, what then becomes of the covenant 
and promise of God to Abram and his seed, in regard to the 
promised land ? Gen. xiii. 14, 17; xvii. 2, 19; xxii. 15, 18. 

1. The restored Jewish nation, or christian church, shall have 
national pre-eminence in the earth. "Arise, shine, for thy light 
is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee; and the 
Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of 
thy rising. The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto 
thee; the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee; the multi- 
tude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and 
Ephah. All they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold 
and incense, and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord. 
Surely the isles shall wait for thee, and the ships of Tarshish 
first, to bring thy sons from afar, their silver and their gold with 
them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One 
of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of 
strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister 
unto thee; for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have 
I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open con- 
tinually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may 
bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings 
may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve 
thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. The 
sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; 
and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the 
soles of thy feet, and they shall call thee the city of the Lord, 
the desire of the Holy One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been 
forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will 
make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. 







THE CRISIS. 



Strangers shall s<and and feed your flocks, and the sons of the 
alien shall be your ploughmen and vine-dressers. But ye shall be 
named the priests of the Lord; men shall call you the ministers 
of our God : ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their 
glory shall ye boast yourselves." (Isaiah lx., lxi.) 

These prophecies last quoted describe the nature of the Jewish 
national glory, when their king shall be king over all the earth. 
One king, and his name One. It will not consist in such elements 
of superiority, as now constitute the glory of nations : military 
and naval powers, literary fame, commercial prosperity, splendid 
attainments in the arts and sciences, the employment and em- 
bellishment of social life, enlightened and liberal policy, im- 
proving revenues, for the gratification of the lusts of the flesh, 
the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. 

2. The restored Jewish nation, or the church of God, on the 
contrary, shall be what our world has never seen, nor shall see, 
till Israel presents the glorious consummation — a righteous 
nation. " In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: 
Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation, which keepeth the 
truth, may enter in. Thy people also shall be righteous : they 
shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the 
work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall 
become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation : I the Lord 
will hasten it in his time. I will put my law into their inward 
parts, and will write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, 
and they shall be my people; and they shall teach no more every 
man his neighbor, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all 
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them; and 
I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me 
forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them. 
I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will put 
my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Then 
will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean ; 
from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse 
you. A new heart also will I give you, and I will put my spirit 
within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes; and ye shall 
keep my judgments, and do them. I will also save you from all 
your uncleannesses. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, 
nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their 
mouths. In that day there shall be upon the bells of their horses, 
holiness unto the Lord." 

3. The restored Jewish nation, or church of God, shall be a 



STATE OF THE CHURCH. 7 

peaceful nation, and under their dominion there shall be universal 
and permanent peace in all the earth. " Look upon Zion, the 
city of our solemnities. Thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet 
habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down : not one 
of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of 
the cords thereof be broken ; but there the glorious Lord will 
be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall 
go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby; 
for the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is 
our king, he will save us. In his day shall the righteous flourish, 
and abundance of peace as long as the moon endureth.. .And 
he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations 
afar off; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and 
their spears into pruning hooks. A nation shall not lift up a sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they 
shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, and 
none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts 
hath spoken it. In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her 
that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that 
I have afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and 
her that was cast far off a strong nation, and the Lord shall reign 
over them in Mount Zion from henceforth for ever and ever. 
And thou, tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter 
of Zion, unto thee shall it come; even the first dominion, the 
kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem:" The child 
that was born unto us of the seed of Abraham, the son that was 
given unto us of the virgin of the house and lineage of David, 
the Saviour, on whose unseen arm a chosen people have been 
long leaning for support in the midst of temptation and persecu- 
tion and scorn, shall then have the government of the world upon 
his shoulder, and be manifested as the prince of peace. Of the 
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, 
upon the throne of David and his kingdom to order it and to 
establish it, with judgment and with justice from henceforth even 
forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this. 

4. The restored Jewish nation, or church of God, shall be a 
nation of true worshippers of the one only living and true God 
— Jehovah in trinity, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of 
Israel. Infidelity will be impossible. They shall all know me, 
saith the Lord, from the least of them unto the greatest of them. 
Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, 
nor with their detestable things, nor with their transgressions. I 



8 



THE CRISIS. 



will place them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in 
the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with 
them; yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 
And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, 
when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. 
Thus it appears that the glory of the kingdom, the pre-eminence 
of the restored Jewish nation, shall consist in their nearness to 
God, and his nearness to them. His sanctuary in the midst of 
them will cause all the nations of the earth to do them honour; 
and their holy superiority shall be exercised in perfect individual 
and national righteousness, in universal and uninterrupted peace. 
How can righteousness, and peace, and true devotion, supersede 
among the nations the high and lofty splendour, the pride and 
glory of military and naval superiority? The sceptre of Messiah's 
kingdom in the earth will be a sceptre of righteousness. His 
people's prayer shall be answered — " thy will be done on earth 
as in heaven." The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the 
haughtiness of man shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone 
shall be exalted in that day; for when his judgments are in the 
earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Great 
will be the change when God shall make clear to men's eyes 
and ears, the living, glorious fruits of universal faith; when the 
disregarded sanctions ot the divine law shall be exhibited with 
power, so that a man shall say " Verily there is a reward for the 
righteous, verily there is a God that judges in the earth." The 
judgments of men will be rectified; that which has been dis- 
jointed by sin, will be reset. The fear of the Lord will be seen 
and known to be wisdom; and a nation pre-eminent in righteous- 
ness, and in favour with God, will be acknowledged the most 
glorious of the nations. 

5. Into this restored Jewish nation, or church of God, shall be 
incorporated all the nations of the earth. To this truth bare all 
the prophets witness. Indeed it is so incorporated in the sacred 
text, with other subjects, that the passages already quoted have 
fully declared it. 

The second coming of our Lord is announced to us in holy 
scriptures, in connexion with four leading themes, which embrace 
the whole subject. 

1. The present dispersion and coming restoration of the Jewish 
people, together with the fulness of the Gentiles. 

2. The present suffering and coming glory of the elect church. 

3. The present proud prosperity and coming utter destruction 
of ungodly men. 



STATE OF THE CHURCH. \) 

4. The present groaning misery, and the coming renovation 
unto the blessedness of the whole earth. 

Thus while the Lord waits to be gracious, sin, persevered in, 
becomes more aggravated in its guilt, and judgment deferred 
becomes more overwhelming in its character. In the Lord's 
language to Jerusalem, we perceive the great and terrible truth, 
that the climax of the judgment falls upon the last generation. 
All these things are written for our learning, upon whom the 
ends of the world shall come. Each succeeding generation of 
wicked men has been living in aggravated wickedness, not mere- 
ly in their own individual transgressions, but in transgressions 
under the peculiar circumstances of longer delayed retribution, 
transgression under the peculiar provocation of despising so much 
more patience; thus the longer the patience of God waits, the 
more inexcusable becomes the wickedness of men. Each genera- 
tion inherits a burthen of transgression from their fathers, adds 
their own to it, and bequeaths it thus increased to their children. 
The long-suspended blow is gathering strength ; and when it 
falls, it w r ill fall with an energy of vengeance and utter ruin. 

That day of vengeance will be the termination of the times of 
the Gentiles. As it is written, Jerusalem shall be trodden down 
of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. 
Then shall the* holy city be trodden under foot no more ; the 
power of the holy people shall no longer be scattered. And the 
kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under 
the whole heavens, that is upon all the earth, shall be given to 
the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an 
everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him 
(Luke xxi., xxiv.; Dan. vii., viii., xii.). The separate condition 
of the Jews, to the end of this dispensation, is that prophetic 
argument of the apostle Paul, in which he concludes that the 
receiving of the Jews again to God's favour will be as life from 
the dead to the Gentile world; for St. Paul styles this benefit the 
riches of the Gentiles, and the reconciling of the world; that as 
the Jews have been, so, till the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, 
they shall be. 

I might pursue this subject much further. I could wish that 
we might all make ourselves more familiar with the prophetic 
parts of Scripture, as they have a direct bearing on the times in 
which we live, and on the works in which we are engaged. I 
have no doubt that a more careful study of the prophecies would 
be the means of removing many a stumbling block out of our 
1* 



10 THE CRISIS. 

way, and rendering our future course more clear, and our labors 
more useful and beneficial to the church and the world at large. 
I wish to attack antichrist and all his adherents, wherever they 
are at work, either in church or state. For I verily believe that 
the last antichrist which the Lord shall consume with the spirit 
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming; 
I have no doubt, I say, oa my mind, that this great enemy of 
God and man will be revealed and matured in what is called the 
Christian Church, the protestant as well as the popish part of it; 
for all the bearing and influence, both of church and state, are 
on the side of unrighteousness : Antichrist in alliance with in- 
fidelity and despotism, and every abomination done in the land. 
Fifteen years ago, in a conversation with some individuals, 
among whom were two ministers, while speaking of popery, I 
said that my conviction was that popery would yet have a further 
triumph in America. They all laughed me to scorn for my vi- 
sionary notions, as they called them : they all said that popery 
had been put down by Buonaparte, and could never rise again. 
Now, I think it will not be denied by any well-informed chris- 
tian, that my conviction has been fulfilling up to the present day. 
Well, six or eight years after the occurrence of that conversation, 
several of the popular divines in New-York, Philadelphia, &c, 
commenced a course of lectures against the Man of Sin, as 
though they would soon hurl him from his usurped throne; but 
as popularity was the mainspring in this crusade, so, after a few- 
years' struggle, popery waxed stronger and stronger, while they 
became weaker and weaker, and at last withdrew from the field 
of battle, exchanging one sin for another, the less for the greater. 
They found it more popular, if not more lucrative, to lend their 
influence to the support of despotism, aggression, war and 
murder, for the extension and perpetuation of that hell-born 
system, United States slavery. No small share of priestcraft is 
both identified and engaged in all this horrid system, at least in 
America. Antichrist wants no better agents to promote his cause 
in this world. 



CHAPTER II. 



UNFULFILLED PROPHECIES. 

We will examine the following- scriptures, and their parallel 
passages, in regard to unfulfilled prophecies of what is yet future. 

Matth. xiii. 36 to 43. " And his disciples came unto him, 
saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He 
that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man : the field is the 
world; the good seed is the children of the kingdom; but the 
tares are the children of the wicked one,. and the enemy that 
sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age or 
dispensation, and the reapers are the angels. As, therefore, the 
tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the 
end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, 
and they shall gather out of Ms kingdom all things that offend, 
and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of 
fire : there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall 
the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their fa- 
ther. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Let him hear and 
understand that the children of the devil, the tares, and the 
children of God, the wheat, are both growing together till the 
harvest; and at the harvest, the Lord appears with his angels the 
reapers; so that there shall be no period previous to his coming, 
in which there will be an unmixed holy converted world clear 
of tares. 

The events and the period of time when the parable of the 
Saviour shall come to its maturity, are inseparably connected 
with the time and events described in Matth. xxiv. from the 29th 
verse and onward; and also in the xxvth chapter, from the 31st 
verse to the end. They all take place at one and the same period. 
So the mixture of the children of the kingdom, and the children 
of the wicked, continues until the second personal advent of 
Christ, when he shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels 
with him; and then shall he separate them one from another, as 
a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. This will prove to 



12 THE CRISIS. 

be the harvest at the end of the dispensation ( called world in 
our translation). This view seems to be confirmed by the re- 
vealed design of the present dispensation, which is to convert 
sinners out of the world (Acts xv. 14). So here James interprets 
Peter's embassy, namely, the object was not to convert the 
world, as is now the popular opinion, but to take a people out 
of the world from among- the gentiles. And with this agrees the 
history of the church, which has not been holding ground in the 
parts of the world where she has gone. God has taken out a 
people, and the candlestick has been removed. Where are the 
seven churches of Asia; where the congregations of Corinth and 
of Carthage? Christianity took her people out, and then departed. 
Her course has resembled the immigrations of a pilgrim, rather 
than the acquisitions of a conqueror; because her object was not 
universal conversion, but the saving an elect church, the mem- 
bers of Christ's mystical body, to reign with him in righteousness 
over the new earth. 

Now some may ask, What new earth does the author mean ? 
"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things 
new; and he said unto me, Write, for these things are true and 
faithful" (Rev. xxi. 5). "Nevertheless, we, according to his 
promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
righteousness" (II. Pet. iii. 13). " Behold I create new heavens 
and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered nor 
come into mind " ( Isa. lxv. 22). For as the new heavens and 
the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith 
the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain" (Isa. lxvi. 
22). " And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold 
it was very good " (Gen. i. 31). 

God's plan, in regard to this world, is a perfect plan in all 
the dispensations of his providence, and the richness and fulness 
of his grace; and he has also an order and a set time for every 
purpose under heaven, for the accomplishment of all his great 
and glorious purposes. A view of this caused the apostle Paul to 
exclaim, " the depth of the riches, both ot the wisdom and 
knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, and 
his ways past finding out! " (Rom. xi. 33). 

It is an old and ordinary device of Satan, in his attempts to 
invalidate the doctrines of revelation, to assault them in their 
tendencies. The first artifice to deceive was an indirect insinua- 
tion concerning the word of God, and a false exhibition of its 
practical operation. " Ye shall not surely die; for God doth 



UNFULFILLED PROPHECIES. 13 

know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then shall your eyes be 
opened, and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil " (Gen. 
iii. 4, 5). Thus allurement will suit his purpose in one case, and 
alarm in another. He can entice or deter, as occasion may re- 
quire, by the abused representation of practical results. Adam, 
after the fall, had no way of acceptance before God, but that of 
justification by faith alone, without the works of the law. All the 
Old Testament saints are represented by our Lord and his apostles 
as justified by faith, and by faith performing all those mighty 
works ascribed to the operation of its agency in Heb. xi. All 
believers, from the first advent until the second coming of Christ, 
were to be justified in one and the same way in all successive 
ages. 

Justification by faith has been the very line of demarkation 
between the form and the 'power of godliness; yet this fun- 
damental doctrine has been assailed by imputations upon its 
practical influences. Such a doctrine, say those who know not 
what they speak, nor whereof they affirm — leads to licentiousness 
and neglect of duty, and therefore cannot be of God. And thus 
has the great enemy succeeded, to a most alarming degree, in 
setting one part of scripture against another part, and in mystifying 
and spiritualizing away much of its plain, literal, grammatical, 
scriptural sense, especially in regard to all those passages which 
speak of Christ's second personal coming to set up his kingdom 
on this earth, and to reign over it with his risen and glorified 
saints. This is called, for the most part, nothing but carnal 
Judaism. The jews overlooked his first advent, on account of the 
state of his humiliation. To them he was as a root out of dry. 
ground, without form or comeliness. They fixed their eyes on 
his second advent, his exaltation as king to sway the sceptre of 
universal dominion for them exclusively. They stumbled at this 
rock of offence, and fell, and were broken off according to the 
prediction, and have experienced its accomplishment to the very 
letter for near two thousand years. 

But the nobility, and the high-minded part of the gentile 
church, called protest ant, has overlooked his second advent, 
and exaltation to the sovereignty over this earth. " Yet have I 
set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Ask of me, and I shall 
give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost 
parts of the earth for thy possession" (Ps. ii. 6, 8). They have 
not only overlooked, but they have denied altogether his second 
personal coming. They have, as they believe, mystified and 



14 THE CRISIS. 

spiritualized it all away ; although his second personal coming 
is declared, as a revealed truth, about sixty times in the New 
Testament. It is the constant burden of the apostles in all their 
exhortations and admonitions. " Looking for that blessed hope, 
even the glorious appearing of the Great God, and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ" (Titus ii. 13). " When Christ, who is our life, 
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col. 
iii. 4). " To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable 
in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our 
Lord Je^us Christ with all his saints" (I.Thess. iii. 13). 

Now these solemn declarations are reiterated again and again 
at least sixty times; and the canon of scripture closes, leaving 
Christ on the earth. " He which testifieth these things, saith, 
Surely I come a^ickly, amen : even so come Lord Jesus." And 
I know of no passage of scripture which speaks of his leaving 
the earth again. 

Hence our modern interpreters of scripture have been high- 
minded in regard to Christ's rule and sovereignty over the earth. 
They have usurped that prerogative to themselves : they claim 
pre-eminence, as though they avouUI rather reign over the earth 
in this world without Christ, than to reign on the earth with 
Christ the glorious king and head of his church. 

Rom. xi. the apostle gives a striking and graphic account of 
the apostacy, fall, stumbling and excision of the Jewish church 
and nation, together with severe rebukes and admonitions against 
the future apostacy of the gentile church and nations. " And if 
some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild 
olive-tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest 
of the root and fatness of the olive-tree, boast not against the 
branches; but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the 
root thee. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou 
standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear; for if God spared 
not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant ac- 
cording to the election of grace, how much more shall those 
which be the natural branches be grafted into their own olive- 
tree. I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this 
mystery ( lest ye should be wise in your own conceits), that 
blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the 
gentiles be come in." The fulness of their abomination and 
apostacy, which, according to the signs of the times, is nearly 
run out ( Dan. vii. 14-27; ii. 44). 



UNFULFILLED PROPHECIES. 15 

Now let us go back, and consider a little more particularly 
the plans and purposes of God. From the fall of man, as revealed 
in the scriptures of truth, it has been His prerogative alone to 
bring good out of evil — to cause the wrath of man to praise him. 
It has been amongst the arguments derived from analogy in favor 
of a future state, that otherwise the disorders and inequalities of 
human condition, the calamities of virtue and the successes of 
vice, would seem to cast a shade upon the moral government of 
God. 

The circumstances which will approach the nearest to our 
own, are those of a race of men connected with a wide dominion, 
of which they form but a part, who should have thrown off the 
allegiance which they owed to their sovereign, and who are now 
occupied with speculations and pursuits entirely their own, in- 
dependent of the will and subversive of the laws of the monarch 
to whom they were in subjection. Let it be supposed that the 
monarch is just, forbearing, kind, and powerful. He looks with 
indignation and sorrow upon that province of his empire, wasted 
by dissension, impoverished by vice, ravaged by cruelty, op- 
pressed by force, and wretched through crime. He contemplates 
with a keen and cautious eye, and resolves to undertake the 
vindication of his insulted authority. 

Two modes of action might present themselves to his mind. 
1. He might send a special commission into the land. He might 
accompany this commission with an overwhelming force, before 
which all the resources of the rebellious must at once be an- 
nihilated. He might arrest the daring and the guilty, and, by a 
judicial process, arrange the scale of punishment, and assign to 
each the just expiation of his crimes. He might collect the loyal, 
and acquaint himself with all their claims upon his regard. He 
might then transfer them, with all their possessions, to the peace- 
ful regions of his empire. He might chase to some inhospitable 
climate the guilty thousands who had taken arms against his 
authority; and, having cleared the land of its inhabitants, he 
might lay waste its dwellings, destroy by tire and violence the 
fertility of its fields, give up its beauty to neglect and oblivion, 
blot out its name from the titles of his crown, and consign it 
in its ruined condition to be a lasting memorial of the folly of 
rebellion. 

2. Or he might send a commission, not to annihilate, but to 
repair; not to crush by violence, but to restrain by wisdom; not 
to erase a title from his brows, but to recover allegiance to his 



16 THE CRISIS. 

laws. He might evince the severity of justice, and the clemency 
of compassion. He might educate, enlighten, protect, and reward. 
He might bring into exercise the latent sympathies of the mis- 
guided and the ignorant. He might bring to bear upon the 
hitherto degraded and unhappy, the nobler motives to human 
action; and he might succeed in the high and generous effort of 
converting a moral wilderness into a scene of culture, fertility, 
and concord. Rejecting the sterner theory of strict justice, he 
might prefer the milder trophy of enmity removed, of rebellion 
extinguished, of anarchy dispossessed, and of a land once more 
become obedient to the sceptre which it had disowned. 

Now let the question be put : Is the vindication of the moral 
government of God, by the destruction of the world, the real 
statement of Revelation ? Has God indeed declared that this 
material earth shall be only a memorial of wrath, but not of 
mercy? Is it the revealed purpose of his immutable will, that the 
scene and place of redemption shall be separated from the people 
to be redeemed; that the earth, with all its variety of garniture 
and beauty, and fitted to be the birthplace of their happiness, and 
given to them as the patrimony and sovereignty of their race, 
shall be torn away from their possession, and given up to the 
avenging flame? Is it indeed the verdict of Revelation, that this 
earth, on which the Redeemer walked and communed with men 
in the time of his humiliation, shall never be the scene of his 
exaltation and fellowship with them in the day of his power and 
glory? Did he, as a wayfaring man, tarry with them only for a 
night, and ascend but to return in the vengeance of insulted 
majesty, to annihilate the scene on which he endured this dis- 
honour ? 

Is it, I would ask, without a distinct and adequate reason that 
the Lord Jesus Christ is called the Second Adam? Surely the 
expression comprises a fuller meaning than that generally as- 
signed to it. It implies indeed a similarity of relation between 
Adam and his descendants, and the Lord and his redeemed : a 
similarity of federal connection between themselves and the 
persons dependent upon their actions. " For as in Adam all die, 
so in Christ shall all be made alive." The transmission of life is 
by one; the transmission of death by the other. This is a great 
truth, momentous in all its consequences; but it is not the whole 
truth. Is not Christ the antitype of Adam in another and very 
important sense? To Adam this material world was given as an 
inheritance, an empire over which he was to exercise a kingly 



UNFULFILLED PROPHECIES. 17 

power. The Mosaic record is expressed in these terms : " So 
God created man in his own image : in the image of God created 
he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed 
them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and re- 
plenish the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish 
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living 
thing that moveth upon the earth." 

This original grant to Adam is referred to in after times by 
David in Psalm viii.; and the dominion of which he speaks is, 
by the apostle Paul, ascribed in its full extent to Christ (Heb. 
ii.), as the Second Adam. 

The creation of Adam after the image of God, implies not 
only the purity and excellence of his moral nature, but the 
sovereignty to which he was heir. The image of God has been 
too exclusively limited to the idea of moral rectitude; but it 
comprises dominion, as well as moral rectitude. Hence, in the 
renovated world, the saints are described as kings and priests 
unto God. Both these blessings, rectitude and dominion, Adam 
lost by his transgression. He was in consequence exiled as a 
criminal from paradise, and begat his children in his own like- 
ness. Depraved and powerless, he could neither transmit the 
original qualities of his mind, nor his right to sovereignty. The 
sceptre was broken when impurity stained his heart. His children 
inherit pollution on the one hand, and captivity on the other : 
they are slaves as well as criminal. Satan, the terrific prince of 
darkness, subtle in his counsel as well as mighty in his strength, 
immediately usurped the crown as it fell from Adam's head, and 
seized the dominion over the earth which Adam had forfeited. 
From that time he maintained a despotic sway over mankind, 
and, by our Lord himself, is admitted to be the king, though an 
usurper, over the present world; for when our Lord entered into 
personal conflict with Satan, it was in that character that he re- 
garded him. Satan pointed out to him the kingdoms of the world, 
and the glory of them ; and expressed his willingness to yield to 
him a delegated sovereignty, if he would allow him the claim of 
superiority. "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall 
down and worship me." Our Lord abhorred the blasphemy, but 
did not deny the usurpation. This usurpation is allowed by the 
inspired apostle, when he declares to the Corinthians that idola- 
ters sacrifice to devils, and not to God. For sacrifice is the 
loftiest homage which one being can pay to another : it is the 
2 



18 



THE CRISIS. 



highest token of submission, the last acknowledgment of supreme 
power. 

But this period of usurpation is limited. In reference to the 
short duration of this unrighteous dominion, the Saviour declared, 
" Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of 
this world be cast out; and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, 
will draw all men unto me/' 

Adam was formed after the image of God; and who is this 
image? We are told by the apostle ( Heb. i.), "God, who, at 
sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in times past unto- 
the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto 
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by 
whom also he made the worlds; who, being the brightness of his 
glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all 
things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged 
our sins, set down on the right hand of the majesty on high.'* 

Adam was the type of Christ. His creation out of the dust of 
the earth, after the divine image of purity and dominion, appears 
to have had special reference to this pattern. He represented 
Christ, the true and only image of God . The dominion, therefore, 
granted to Adam, is in fact the dominion granted to Emmanuel, 
the Christ, the Anointed Ruler m Israel, " whose goings forth 
have been from of old, from everlasting; and this man shall be 
the peace, though the mystic Assyrian be come into our land." 
Micah v. 2, 5. 

The past ages of mankind have exhibited the misrule and 
misery of usurped power. The dominion has been in Satanic 
hands; and the successive schemes of human authorities, their 
policy, art and strength, have been the developments of Satan's 
wisdom, in order to maintain, if possible, his full possession of 
the earth; but, through all these dark periods of time, the plans 
of a Mightier One are preparing in silence for their completion. 
The world belongs to Christ. The course of human things can- 
not therefore be at rest : the decree has gone forth, "And thou 
profane wicked prince, whose day is come when iniquity shall 
have an end. Thus saith the Lord God, Remove the diadem and 
take off the crown : exalt him that is low, and abase him that is 
high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn; and it shall be no 
more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him." 
Ezek. xxi. 25, 27. 

Then, it would appear, will the earth be at rest, and the 
original grant of dominion to Adam be realized. Then will God 



UNFULFILLED PROPHECIES. 19 

create a new heaven and a new earth. Then will his redeemed 
church ascend to share his glory in actual sovereignty and perfect 
felicity, and reign with him upon the earth, and no faithful fol- 
lower of the Lamb shall be denied the sunshine of the millenial 
summer. The dead shall be raised from their graves, to partici- 
pate in the victory. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
first resurrection! Rev. xx. 4-6. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE DELUGE OF WRATH TO THE IMPENITENT. 

Insensibility of the world to the warning voice of Christ. 

If the prospect of the future be bright and consoling to the true 
christian, so ought it to be dark and oppressive to the unbelieving" 
and impenitent. The glory of God will receive its twofold mani- 
festation in the awards of justice, and in the gifts of mercy. The 
time of vindication at length will come. During many a long 
year, the name of Christ has afforded occasion to the exercise of 
mockery, contempt and superstition. Recognized in the theory 
of society, whether political or ecclesiastical, he is practically 
despised; and the principles of worldly policy supersede his 
councils, and nullify his decisions. The majority of nominal 
christians are utterly careless of their responsibility to his tribunal, 
and expect the course of the world still to proceed in the same 
manner as it has done from age to age. In vain the scriptures 
announce a limited period to the forbearance of God; in vain 
they call for repentance, and faith, and godliness; in vain they 
proclaim a day in which God will judge the world in righteous- 
ness, by that august Ruler, " whose goings forth are from ever- 
lasting, whereof God hath given assurance unto all men in that 
he hath raised him from the dead." A deathlike torpor and in- 
credulity rests upon the human soul, and all the judgments and 
mercies of the Almighty make no impression. In private life, 
tear chases tear, and death succeeds to death; but no man learns 
wisdom, save the despised saint whom God deigns to enlighten 
and to bless. In public life, wars and commotions, pestilence 
and earthquakes, anarchy and blood, attest, during successive 
centuries, the controversy which God has with national impiety; 
but national reform, humiliation and godliness, are conditions of 
public life unfelt, unseen, contemned. If there be a zeal for 
social rights, for mental freedom, for commercial greatness, for 
intellectual progress, it pauses short of the claims of God. Secu- 



DELUGE OF WRATH. 21 

larity pollutes the church; and while civil policy expands the 
enactments of legislation to the multiplied interests of the citizen, 
it contracts their influence over the acknowledged rights of God. 
On this matter of human action, man is everything — God is 
disregarded : his name, indeed, is upon the tongue, and his 
authority is registered upon the page of the public liturgy; but 
his will, his decisions, his warnings, and his promises, are mere 
matters of cold speculation or occasional excitement. Only in 
the day of sorrow, sickness or death, there may be a transient 
reference to the mercy of God ; but it is the refuse offering 
which the world will no longer ask for, nor receive — the ap- 
proaching day of Christ, the results of his incarnation, his con- 
nection with mankind, the responsibility to him incurred by 
talent, wealth, influence, rank and power. 

These ideas are all rejected as illiberal and enthusiastic. The 
secondary interests of man chase away his primary necessities 
from his sight, and three score years of life are preferred to 
eternity; the care of the body is preferred to that of the soul, 
and the applause of man is deemed a brighter heritage than the 
enduring approbation of God. 

It appals the thoughtful mind to contemplate the fearful up- 
shot of this state of human things. The day of God approaches, 
but where is the preparation for his advent ? When our Al- 
mighty Redeemer foretold his return to the world again in 
which he had been rejected, he said to his sorrowing disciples, 
" Let not your hearts be troubled. In my father's house are many 
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to pre- 
pare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, 
I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, 
there ye may be also" (John xiv. 2, 3). " And while they 
looked steadfastly towards heaven as he went up, behold two 
men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men 
of Gallilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same 
Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come 
again in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 
i. 30, 11). 

The Saviour also announced the very manifestation which we 
witness, of incredulity and contempt — " As the days of Noah 
were, so shall also that coming of the Son of Man be; for as 
in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and 
drinking, marrying and given in marriage, until the day that 
Noali entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and 



22 THE CRISIS. 

took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man 
be." The flood came on the world unexpectedly, although the 
theme of incessant prediction. During one hundred and twenty 
years did the warning voice of God utter its mournful accents, 
and entreat a cessation in the work of ungodliness and sin. The 
warning accents were scattered to the desert air; they reached 
no rebel heart of man. The shortness of time, the approach of 
death, the brooding darkness of the gathering storm interrupted 
not the course of sensuality, the progress of licentiousness, nor the 
noise of mirth. " They ate, they drank; the harp and the viol, 
and tabret and melody were in their feasts. They formed alli- 
ances, they built up many dwelling places, they coveted indi- 
vidual and national revenue; but they regarded not the work of 
the Lord, nor knew the operation of his hands." They ridiculed 
the prophetic record : they smiled in idle scorn while the prophet 
built and surveyed his ark, the appointed refuge from the ap- 
proaching wrath; but the insensibility of man delayed not the 
purpose of God; the neglected warning cancelled not the re- 
corded purpose; the mirth of the criminal arrested not the hand 
of the executioner. The horizon blackened, the tempest burst, 
and the human population lay buried beneath the waves. " I 
saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man 
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of 
days, and they brought him near before him; and there was 
given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 
nations and languages should serve him : his dominion is an 
everlasting dominion which shall not be destroyed. The saints 
of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the king- 
dom forever, even forever and ever" (Daniel vii. 13, 14, 18). 

And so shall it be, we are told by infallible authority, in the 
judgments of the last days. " And the beast was taken, and with 
him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with 
which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, 
and them that worshipped his image : these both were cast alive 
into the lake of fire and brimstone" (Rev. xix. 20). This event 
approximates to the great crisis, to the binding of Satan, the first 
resurrection, the reign of the glorified triumphant church on earth. 
<f Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : 
on such the second death hath no power, and they shall reign 
with Christ a thousand years" (Rev, xx. 6). 

Notwithstanding the same warnings and denunciations from 
infallible authority, still the same insensibility, the same licen- 



DELUGE OF WRATH. 23 

tiousness, the same preference of sensual to spiritual joy, the 
same complacency in ungodly gratification, the same oblivion of 
justice and mercy, the same contempt of divine law and at- 
tachment to human schemes, will characterize the period of time 
proximate to the second advent of Christ, as characterized the 
period antecedent to the terrific flood of Noah. It would be an 
awful employment to portray to the mind, with any historical 
accuracy, the tremendous alarm which must at length have 
seized the world, when the long threatened judgment actually 
commenced; when the torrents of the skies, and the tides of the 
ocean, united their fearful strength, and, by successive ravages, 
marked out a storm unlike the wintry desolation of other years; 
a storm directed by the same almighty hand which had hitherto 
restrained the furious elements, and made them subservient to 
human welfare. Creative power was now charged with retribu- 
tive indignation, and the arm of God now shattered the schemes 
of man. The business of earth at length paused, the din of plea- 
sure ceased, the strife of individuals was suspended, the politics 
of nations were arrested. All classes of society mingled together, 
appalled by a common ruin; landmarks of property were anni- 
hilated; armies were useless, wealth but a name, and science a 
delusion. The avenging scourge of Omnipotence passed over the 
whole earth, and no criminal remained behind to tell the tale. 
Conviction came too late : remorse could be no substitute for re- 
pentance; the hour for contrition was forever gone. What a 
solemn reflection this to a thoughtful mind, that, in this dreadful 
destruction, not one escapes but the despised and fanatical ark- 
builder and his family, as he was looked upon by the ungodly 
world. 

Now to this scene of utter disaster the Redeemer refers, in 
order to illustrate the consternation which will arrest an im- 
penitent world, when he shall return to the earth on which he 
has been so long despised. " And I will bring distress upon 
men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have 
sinned against the Lord; and their blood shall be poured out as 
•dust, and their flesh as dung. Neither their silver nor their gold 
shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; 
but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy, 
for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell 
in the land. For my determination is to gather the nations, that 
I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indig- 
nation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be de- 



24 



THE CRISIS. 



voured with the fire of my jealousy" (Zeph. i. 17, IS; iii. 8). 
" For behold the day comctli that shall burn as an oven; and all 
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and 
the day that comcth shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, 
that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. And ye shall 
tread down the wicked; for they be ashes under the soles of 
your feet, in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts" 
(Mai. iv. 1, 3). 

Whether, therefore, the prophetic interpretation which I have 
attempted to give, be correct or incorrect, the day of the second 
personal advent of the Lord Jesus Christ will arrive; and who 
may abide the day of his anger? Insensibility and scorn will 
characterize human society; the voice which warns will excite 
eontemptj the hand which points, not in anger, but in love, to 
predicted judgments, will be met by no friendly eye; the busi- 
ness, pleasure, gains, and philosophy of life, will employ the 
world until the sign of the Son of Alan shall appear in the heavens, 
and the authority of Christ allow of scorn no more. Is it not 
fearful to portray that which will overwhelm a guilty world, 
when, too late for refusal, tin' cup of trembling is held to its lips ! 
The destruction and calamities of the last days of the gentile 
apostacy arc delineated on the page of Scripture, with a force 
and energy calculated to shake 1 to the foundation the strongest 
confidence of the world; but the men of this world will not read; 
they will not listen : they pursue the game of life, and sport upon 
the precipice of perdition; they eat, they drink, they buy, they 
sell, they plant, they build, they add house to house, they add 
field to field, till there be no room. 

True religion is despised, and the authority of the Son of 
God is forgotten ; but the obduracy of man can not invalidate 
the claims of God. The records of the Omniscient, no human 
hands can erase : resisted or received, they hasten to their ac- 
complishment. Would to God that the great and rich of the 
earth, the wise and the intelligent, the civil officers from the 
highest to the lowest, the clergy of all descriptions throughout 
the land ; would that all to whom God has entrusted the use of 
power and influence and wealth, might remember the condition 
of man, and the tribunal before which he must stand; and espe- 
cially would that all those who hold a controlling influence in 
church and state were deeply impressed with the solemn respon- 
sibility which rests upon them, lest the blood of souls be found 
in their skirts. And would that the mingled multitudes, doomed 



DELUGE OF WRATH. 25 

to toil in obscurity and poverty, might alike receive the message 
of the eternal word. If any human being, occupied with the de- 
tails of the earth, should ponder these feeble lines, would that 
he might hear the warning voice, and remember the Saviour of 
whom it speaks. Painful indeed is it to think of a ruin which no 
human skill can avert; of a degradation, which no art of man 
can reclaim ; of a waste, for which no afterthrift can atone. 

" Come near, ye nations, to hear, and hearken ye people. 
Let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all 
things that came forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is 
upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies. He hath 
utterly destroyed them : he hath delivered them to the slaughter; 
their slain shall be cast out. The mountains shall be melted with 
their blood, and all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the 
heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and all their hosts 
shall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the vine. For my 
sword shall be bathed in heaven; for it is the day of the Lord's 
vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of 
Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the 
dust thereof into brimstone; and the land thereof shall be burning 
pitch : it shall not be quenched night nor day. The smoke thereof 
shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie 
waste : none shall pass through it forever; and he shall stretch 
out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. 
Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read : no one of these 
shall fail; for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it 
hath gathered them" (Isaiah xxxiv.). 

Will the clergy, who are now amusing their people with 
smooth pleasant things, ponder well this subject; and all who 
have fallen asleep under such preaching, become like those no- 
ble Bereans, and search the scriptures if these things be so, and 
not swallow their food without chewing ? As they have an apos- 
tle's commendation, in searching for themselves whether these 
things be so, lest they incur guilt in neglect of conceded duty. 

The foregoing views of the personal advent of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, I think, are calculated to reconcile the poor christian to 
the struggles of the present life. The dim thought of heaven will 
cheer and comfort him in this struggle; but I think a simpler 
and more intelligible solace might reach his heart, if, when 
toiling in the cold shade of poverty, or groaning on the bed of 
ill mitigated disease, he could connect the voice, the eye, the 
welcome of his Saviour, with a body free from sin and pain, and 

2* 



26 THE CRISIS. 

in the sunshine of a world with whose scenery and usages all his 
thoughts are familiar. Such a solace would still be to him his 
heaven; but a heaven more palpably reduced to the level of his 
comprehension and his hopes, I should anticipate, also, from the 
prevalence of these views of the coming of our blessed Lord, 
and a far stronger feeling of christian charity amidst the diversi- 
ties of human opinions. 

We expect reunion of opinion in heaven : we expect there 
the results of intuition, rather than of reason; we expect there 
to be as one family, and to share one undivided felicity; but 
now how powerless has been this anticipation, hitherto, to allay 
or to smooth the ruggedness of religious controversy ! What 
barriers still exist against the coalition of human feelings, amidst 
the diversities of sect and church ! Heaven is a place, distant, 
unnoticed, unknown. Might it not effect this hallowed work of 
concord and charity, to contemplate the approaching advent of 
the Lord; to espouse his church, in terrestrial and spiritual 
glory to himself ? How near may be the hour, when all the con- 
tentions of the ransomed church shall be annihilated and forgotten 
in the accordant exclamation, " The marriage of the Lamb is 
come !'' How near may be the time, when this renovated earth 
shall be under the benignant rule of the risen saints of God ! 
" For when he shall appear, then shall we also appear with 
him in glory." Christians, if such you be in reality, the name 
and nature of God is love, and you are to be one in Him. His 
advent may be near. You are brothers of one family, and your 
father's house will soon open upon your view. Your divisions 
and heartburnings will soon pass into oblivion, and the earth will 
break forth before you into singing. ' ' When the saints of the 
Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom 
forever, even forever and ever" (Dan. vii. 18, 27), the most 
emphatic term that can be employed to express an eternal du- 
ration. 

Now let it be borne in mind, that this kingdom of the risen 
saints with Christ, their exalted head and glorious king, is an 
unlimited kingdom : it is over the whole earth, and under the 
whole heavens. We are now builders in a city, which is to ex- 
pand into eternal beauty and strength; but let us remember that 
the. scaffolding on which we stand is temporary, while the com- 
munion of the saints is eternal. The speedy advent of Christ may 
give reality and force to this recollection, that, when our Divine 
Master comes, let him find us in harmony, in faith, in love 
(Matth. xxiv. 44, 51). 



DELUGE OF WRATH. 27 

The time is short. " The night cometh when no man can 
work. Watch, watch; for you know not at what hour your Lord 
cometh." These expressions are weighty, and they are associated 
with all the sensations of a human heart. They will, I think, de- 
rive an additional efficacy from the view of the millennial felicity 
of the new earth (II. Peter iii. 11, 14). " Seeing then that all 
these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye 
to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and 
hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the hea- 
vens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall 
melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his pro- 
mise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth 
righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such 
things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without 
spot, and blameless." The apostle here associates the expectation 
of a new earth with the strongest motives to practical godliness. 
The approach of the master ought to be influential upon the fide- 
lity and zeal of the servant. The sudden advent of the Lord is, 
in his own prophecy, united to the activity of the disciple. The 
connection is in humble life. " Two women shall be grinding: at 
the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." Blessed is 
that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. 
To unite the thought of his advent with every present effort, is 
calculated to cheer toil, to dignify poverty, and to consecrate 
by high motives even the lowest avocations of industry and love. 
It would lead to that habit of mind which connects responsibility 
with all the conditions of life, and no faithful follower of the 
Lamb shall be denied the sunshine of the millennial summer. 
The dead shall be raised from their graves, to participate in the 
victory. " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- 
rection : on such the second death hath no power; but they 
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him 
a thousand years" (Rev. xx. 6). 



CHAPTER IV. 

« TIME TO FAVOUR ZION." 
Isaiah, lxii. 

The prophecy whence these words are taken, is one of peculiar 
interest. It contains the first opening' of the gospel message by 
our Lord himself, in the synagogue of Nazareth. It gives the 
fullest statement of his gracious mission, the clearest intimation 
of his heart and mind in visiting his own people, and in the 
general preaching of the gospel. He was anointed to preach 
good tidings unto the meek. He was sent to bind up the broken- 
hearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of 
the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable 
year of the Lord; to commence, to carry on, and to perfect a 
work which shall issue in the glory of Israel, and the blessedness 
of the whole earth. We may see then the importance of this 
prophecy at all times, and especially now when the dawn of its 
glorious fulfilment seems divinely in the distance to appear. 

1. Messiah's expressions of zeal for Jerusalem. 

The 61st and 62d chapters of Isaiah are one continued address 
from our Lord Christ. He is the speaker throughout : he appro- 
priated to himself the first verses of the 61st chapter, saying in 
the synagogue, when the eyes of all were fastened on him, " This 
day is the scriptures fulfilled in your ears." And all bare him 
witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded 
out of his mouth. 

But Israel rejected their Lord and Redeemer. He came to his 
own, and his own received him not. Our Saviour foresaw the 
bitter fruits which would follow this rejection, and wept over 
Jerusalem. How affecting from time to time his expression, 
" ! that thou hadst known, even in this thy day, the things 
belonging to thy peace. Behold, your house is left unto you 



TIME TO FAVOUR ZION. 29 

desolate. Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles, till 
the times of the gentiles be fulfilled. Daughters of Jerusalem, 
weep not for me; but weep for yourselves and for your chil- 
dren." In the midst of the grace of the gospel, the righteousness 
of God was awfully exhibited : their sin being filled up, the 
wrath of God came upon them to the uttermost; till, according 
to the prediction of Isaiah, the city was wasted without inhabi- 
tants, and the houses without men, and the land was utterly deso- 
late, and men were removed far away. 

Thus the day of vengeance was associated with the acceptable 
year; a day, as it respects the Jewish nation, that has lasted 1800 
years, and is not yet terminated. 

What was the design of this ? the, apostle asks. Have they 
stumbled, that they should fall ? God forbid; but rather, through 
their fall salvation has come unto the gentiles, to provoke them 
to jealousy. There is mercy yet in store for them. The Re- 
deemer's eye of love, desiring their good, shoots beyond their 
fall to the time of their recovery, and rejoices in the comfort 
they should then receive; for with him a thousand years are as 
one day, and he sees in the distance (Isa. lxi. 6, 7) the building 
of the old wastes, and the raising up of former desolations, and 
the double honour for shame, and the everlasting joy for confu- 
sion : the exaltation shall be as high, as the humiliation has been 
deep. 

The length of delay which raises difficulties in our minds, is 
only a confirmation of the truth of the promise; for it was from 
the first in the mind of the Redeemer, if their rejection had not 
been long, how could the Lord have fulfilled those words " they 
shall build the old wastes, the desolations of many generations" ? 
The lapse of years only confirms the depth of his counsel, and 
the truth of his word. In the midst of this joyful proposal of 
good to Zion, the Lord sees the wrong done to the jews, and 
utters this sharp reproof : "I the Lord love judgment, and 
hate robbery for burnt-offering; and I will direct their work in 
truth, and make an everlasting covenant with them." 

For centuries upon centuries, christians, under the assumption 
of superior spiritual discernment, and the pretext of more spi- 
ritual views, have been robbing the jews of all right and interest 
in these promises expressly made to them; though St. Paul has 
explicitly applied them, in the 11th chapter of Romans, to the 
literal Israel. From age to age, christians have been exclusively 
applying the promises only to themselves; thinking that they 



30 tin: < i: isis. 

have given by this a great evidence of their spirituality, rendered 
the word of God much moro perfect, and done an acceptable 
service to the Lord. All christians have, indeed, through faith 
in Jesus, ;' title to the spiritual blessings; bul they have become 
high minded, forgetting the solemn warning of the apostle, 

" BoBSt nol a<.';;iius| Ili«- hi .melics , for if Iholl hoasl, tfaoU hrarest 

111. i (he root, bul the rool thee." The very wresting ol these pro* 
mises becomes, then, a motive with Jehovah for their fulfilment! 
Mis promised mercies are the highest portion <>f a people. < i < * < 1 
hates the stinting of his mercies, and the setting narrow bounds 
i«» ins love. The apostatizing gentiles, having disbelieved bit 
love to Israel, shall therefore sec that love In iis fulness : their 
seed shall '»<• Known among the gentiles, and their offspring 
among the people. Ail that see them shall acknowledge them, 
Hi, if they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. 

in iiir two next verses ( 10, I I ), \\«- have ;> farther stage of the 
prophecy. The glorj <>i his people approaching, Chrisl utters 
the exulting song i M I will greatly rejoice in the Lord i my 
soul shall be joyful in mj God; for he hath covered me with 
the robe of righteousness." This applies to Christ himself; fox 
" they shall hang upon him all flu- glory of his father's house, (ho 
offspring and issur" ( Isa. \\ii. '-' I ). " I le shall build the temple 
of the Lord, ami In- shall l>< ar the glory" (Zech. vi. 13). He if 
is then dial exults in tin" prospect <>i that joy ami glory, which 
will accrue (<> him in flu 1 happinesss of his people. 

From this triumphant, joyful prospect of faith, our Lord pro- 
ceeds to a fervent intercession. "For Zion's sake i \\ill not 
hold mj peace; for Jerusalem's sake, I will not rest, until the 
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation 
thereof as i lamp thai burnetii." This shows, that amidst all ap 
parent delays, and Lengthened desolation, he is, however hidden 
ii he from men's ryes, unceasingly pursuing that which, in the 
result, shall make them a righteous nation, f<» inherit the land 
forever. The Lord Is taking (he surest and ihe wisest method to 
bring on that glorious issue of his purposes, so often foretold, 

and which are as legible as the noonday, throughout (he saered 

oracles, if searched for with due diligence, and in a humble, 
teachable, prayerful spirit. Ii the ministers of the gospel would 
l»ui adopt Daniel's course for information on the prophecies, 
they would have no occasion to be resorting continually to 
Nicodemus's difficulty, and saying ll How can ihese things be ?" 
For the praj er, see I Ian. i\ 17. 



TUMI'. TO PAVOUH /ion. )>l 

From intercession, our Lord proceeds i<> renewed and fuller 
promises. " The gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and nil kings 
thy glory." The choicest and brightest figures of exaltation and 
blessedness are used : Hie crown of glory j the royal diadem; 
delight, rejoicing, bridal gladness, married happiness; God thus 
joying in /ion, and glorified in her glory. Such are the rich and 
varied emblems, ami such iii»' wonderful truth which the] con 
lay, Ai length the time i<> favor /.ion draws nigh. The love <»i 
Christ, like Joseph's, shut up in secret lor a prolonged period, 
a period oi now iicaih °->oi> years, overflows into the hearts of 
some of Ins servants, tills them with the like spirit, and awakens 

in them Hit' like desires; reveals lo llieni his own longing J opens 

to them his free promises; leads them to lake pleasure in her 
stones, and favour iter dust; ami thus gives iiiem a token that the 

lime of Ins promises is drawing nigh. "I lia\e set watchmen 
upon thy walls, <> /ion, which shall never hold their peace." 

It is the correspondence of the signs of the times to this, 

which leads me lo call for allenlion lo these passages of God's 
word. The gracious promise announced, " I have set watch 
men." (lod's freest mercies come through appointed means. 

The deliverance of Zion is, In b great measure, accomplished 

through the appointment of watchmen, and their lervent pra\ers. 
In this promise ol \\ atclnuen, we notice their stations, their 

charge, and the signs of the accomplishment of the promise. All 

who are his true servants, and receive tin- hope, and wait lor the 
consolation of Israel, are included. Our Lord's direclion is nni 
\ersal. " What I say UntO you, I say unto all, Watch." 

'The office of watchmen is lo foresee and forewarn of cue 
mies; lo look lo (he hills and distant mountains, and give no- 
lice of approaching succour (Ps. cxxi). Another part of the 

Office is lo announce the approach of the inornini;. " i\ly soul," 

says David, " waiteth for the Lord, more than they thai watch 
tor the morning.*' Men to fulfil this office are here promised. 

The eye ol the walchman shall he intent on the fall o\ that 
which has heen the great enemy <>l the .jews the mistical 

Babylon, and all antichristian confederacy. On the accomplish- 
ment of this, we find, in Rev. \i\., the Jewish Hallelujah again 
is heard in the songs of the Church. We have a striking descrip 

(ion of this in Laiah \\i. (J !). To these things the walehmen, 
duly regarding their office, shall, il is here promised, take dili 
gent heedj they shall he wise tO discern the signs of the limes. 
Their .station is on Ihe walls; and if it he asked, I low can this 



OX THE CRISIS. 

be; if Jerusalem be not yet established, but desolate, what are 
her walls ? Jerusalem has other walls than those of stone. " I, 
saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and 
will be the glory in the midst of her" (Zach. ii. 5). Salvation 
will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Walk about Zion, and 
go round about her and tell the towers thereof. God's promises 
and his covenant are its bulwarks, and, like Mount Pisgah, are 
eminences from which the coming glory may be seen. He has 
promised the protection of Zion, and its future security and 
glory; and by faith in this promise, the watchman is raised on 
high, with a wide range of blessed prospect. From these walls 
he can discern the Various enemies of Zion, and their sure de- 
feat. From these walls he can oversee all its dwellings, and 
their promised peace. Look upon Zion, the city of our solemni- 
ties : thine eyes shall behold Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a 
tabernacle that shall not be taken down. By the same faith in 
God's promises, he is enabled to catch the first dawn of the day 
of glory. " When ye see these things come to pass, know ye 
that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand : the night is far spent; 
the day is at hand." Faith, then, in God's precious promises, is 
here assured to the watchmen. 

The charge which he gives to his watchmen whom he ap- 
points, is never to hold their peace day nor night. Christ him- 
self says, " For Zion's sake I will not hold my peace." His 
own spirit is at length given to his watchmen. This unceasing 
ardour marks the heavenly worshippers : they rest not clay and 
night, in the service of God. The same ardour marked the 
apostles' spirit : night and day praying exceedingly, that " we 
might see your face, and perfect that which is lacking in your 
faith." This includes all outward exertion for the spiritual good 
of others; praying always for the progress of the gospel, and 
here more especially for the blessedness of Israel. This is after 
the perfect pattern of the Redeemer, and for the full glory of 
Zion, which is here promised as the character of these watch- 
men. gracious promise ! Amazing love of Christ in giving it ! 
Large desires bring large blessings. Such watchmen, then, raised 
up of God, are a special mercy to his church, and to his grace 
alone are we indebted for such gifts. 



TIME TO FAVOUR ZION. 33 



2. Signs of the accomplishment of the gracious promises. 

How long 1 and dark a night has passed over Israel ever since 
her rejection of her Messiah, while no watchman thought of her 
welfare ! The apostle Paul, indeed, could testify. My heart's 
desire and prayer to God for Israel, is, that they may be saved; 
but, for what a lengthened period since! How few have been 
pleading for Zion ! The jews might truly have said, No man 
careth for my salvation; but, thanks be unto God, He is, more 
and more, giving- his servants faith in the plain and literal 
meaning of the promises; and the Jewish nation, we trust, may 
soon address the Lord's watchmen in the glowing language of 
Isaiah, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of hirn 
that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that saith unto 
Zion, thy God reigneth, thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; 
with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to 
eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion ! " 

And already are first symptoms — dim, it is true, but full of 
promise and good hope — beginning to appear of the restoration 
of Israel. The silence of eighteen centuries is broken; the pre- 
judices of eighteen centuries are giving way; jews and christians 
are beginning to sympathize in one hope : the jews are com- 
paring the New Testament with the predictions of the suffering 
Messiah ; christians are looking into the Old Testament, to 
discern the fulness of its promises as to the glorified and reigning 
Redeemer. 

The watchman may have to wait indeed on his watch-tower a 
season, according to his office. The prophet Habakkuk brings this 
delay before us; but he is cheered by the divine assurance. The 
vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it shall speak, 
and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely 
come : it will not tarry — a passage applied by the apostle in the 
Hebrews, to the return of the Redeemer. The church, therefore, 
should be stirred up to do its appointed work in this time of 
waiting; to write the vision, and make it plain; to prepare the 
way of the people; to remove stumbling stones, and to proclaim 
to the daughters of Sion every where, Behold, thy Saviour 
cometh! For 2500 years this promise has been buried like seed 
in the ground. what riches of blessings are yet to be reaped 
through its budding forth! The bearing of the fulness of fruit of 
such precious promises, in God's own appointed time, will fill 

3 



34 



THE CRISIS. 



the world with a harvest of glory, to the everlasting praise of 
Jehovah. 

The Saviour's zeal for Israel is so intense, that he urges the 
watchmen to plead with God in terms that, without his direction, 
would seem to be daring presumption. "Keep not rest, and give 
no rest to him : keep not silence, and give no silence to him." 
How little we know yet of the mind of Christ, and how much 
we need to seek it! Truly blessed is that mind, when attained; 
for when our prayers go forth as brightness, Jerusalem^ salvation 
will go forth as a lamp that burnetii. 

Watchmen, you are God's remembrancers. What a trust he 
reposes in you ! What responsibility rests upon you ! In heaven, 
exhaustless treasures of mercy are in store; but on earth there 
is sin, misery, and desolation. You are the appointed channels 
through which streams of mercy may descend, and make the 
desert rejoice and blossom as the rose. Christ appoints you his 
officers to this end, and gives you the title, 'The Lord's re- 
membrancers.' It is a mystery of wisdom, far beyond our 
thoughts, that God's blessings should, as it were, wait on his 
people's prayers : yet is this plainly revealed; and it is our part 
not to raise questions, but to act in faith, and pray without 
doubting. There is a bright bow of promise shining on the face 
of the dark cloud of judgment impending over our world : that 
cloud shall become, through prayers, a cloud rich with mercy, 
also waiting our prayers, like Elijah's for Israel, to be opened 
in showers of blessings on the earth. pray for the peace of 
Jerusalem ! Give the Lord no rest. The fervent effectual prayer 
of a righteous man availeth much. It is your privilege that the 
Lord delights in fervent prayer. Plead, then, his gracious pro- 
mises. Be deeply sensible of the greatness of what we ask, that 
it is our happiness to plead with him. Be deeply sensible that this 
is the way by which his choicest blessings come to his church. 

We have access with boldness into the holiest of all, by the 
blood of Jesus. This wonderful command, "Give the Lord no 
rest," may well encourage us to confide in God's love. To this 
confidence we are remarkably called by the parable of the unjust 
judge, given for this end. That men ought always to pray, and 
not to faint, hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God 
much more avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto 
him? Though he bear long with them, I tell you that he will 
avenge them speedily. The more bold and confiding, the more 
acceptable. God delights in the confidence of love, and you can- 



TIME TO FAVOUR ZION. 



35 



ftot expect too much from his goodness. Let your prayers have 
scriptural objects, that they be enlightened according to God's 
will, and in the line of his revealed counsel. Pray for men with- 
out exception, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of 
God our Saviour, who will have all men to be saved and to come 
to the knowledge of the truth; but since the receiving of Israel 
is as life from the dead to the world, and here and elsewhere 
pre-eminently commanded and encouraged, therefore first and 
especially pray for Israel. Prayer should be, like the gospel, for 
the jew first, and also for the gentile. In prayer for all men, we 
honour God's love to all men; but in special prayer for the jew, 
we honour not only his love to all men, but also his sovereignty 
and wisdom in the way by which that love shall be manifested. 
Seek not only the establishment of Jerusalem, but that it may 
become a praise in all the earth. 

The last question of our Lord's disciples was, Wilt thou at 
this time restore the kingdom to Israel ? Nor should we imagine 
our Lord was displeased with that question, as his command here 
may show us. But what is the establishment of Jerusalem? Read 
the 60th of Isaiah, and the latter chapters of Ezekiel and Re- 
velations. See Jerusalem, as our Lord calls it, the city of the 
Great King. Mark the titles given it by God himself : "The 
place of thy throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where 
I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever." By 
the mouth of Jeremiah he gives the promise, "I will cause the 
captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will 
build them up as at the first." the wonders of this great esta- 
blishment! Enlarge your thoughts and desires, and you will be 
sure, after all you imagine, to fall far short of the reality. Then 
think of it as a praise in all the earth! The continuation of the 
passage shows us this : "And it shall be to me a name of joy, 
a praise, and an honour before all nations, which shall hear all 
the good that I do unto them, and shall fear and tremble for all 
the goodness and for all the prosperity which I procure unto it." 
As in the Revelations, "The nations of them that are saved shall 
walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their 
glory and honour into it." 

Thus at length shall every nation be led to know and rejoice 
in Christ, and the whole earth be filled with his glory. Nothing 
less than this is the mind of Christ. The blessedness of the whole 
earth through the blessedness of Israel, here is the divine me- 
thod; for bringing all men to Christ is his gracious purpose. 



CHAPTER V. 



SCRIPTURAL VIEWS OF THE RESTITUTION OF ALL 
THINGS. 

The following thoughts are suggested by one believing all things 
which are written, not only in the Law and the Prophets, but in 
the Gospels, Epistles and Apocalypse, concerning Christ and his 
Church. 

The whole of this argument must rest on its conformity to the 
testimony of the Book of Life, taken in its most obvious and 
literal acceptation ; and by this test the author desires it may be 
tried by competent judges, men of faith and prayer, more mighty 
in the scriptures, more instructed in the way of the Lord than 
he presumes to be. He will be truly thankful to any of this de- 
scription, who will take up these subjects, and expound the way 
of God more perfectly ; but while there are many who have not so 
much as heard that there is a first resurrection and kingdom to 
come on earth, other than that within the soul of the regenerate, 
he is constrained to declare those things which he believes to be 
revealed among the lively oracles of God. They were considered 
among the tests of entire orthodoxy in the first three centuries of 
the christian era : they will not amalgamate with the heresies of 
the last; their gold is that of the sanctuary, and will lose nothing 
by refinement in its fire, but the dross of imperfect interpretation. 
While such diligence is manifested in the revival of exploded 
errors, an earnest inquiry after long neglected truths cannot be 
unseasonable; and the first resurrection is one of them. Out of 
the old fields assuredly shall the new corn spring, and this doc- 
trine must revive as the scriptures are searched. It is hidden 
therein as good seed in the ground, and it will take root down- 
wards and bear fruit upwards : it is planted in the house, and 
will flourish in the courts of the Lord : it has arisen already as a 
daystar in the hearts of some, and it will set no more till the sun 
of righteousness shall burst on a benighted apostatizing church, 



RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS. 37 

and a world that sitteth in darkness ; till the noble army of 
martyrs shall appear, clothed in fine linen, white and clean; till 
Jerusalem shall awake, and arise and shake herself from the 
dust, and put on her beautiful garments; when the holy church, 
throughout all the world, shall be astonished at the strangeness 
of her salvation, and walk in the light of her glory. 

The particular point for discussion is, "the restitution of 

ALL THINGS." 

The consistent interpretation of the passage in which this 
expression occurs, and the doctrinal views inculcated therein, 
will most readily be ascertained by a consideration of the original 
and appropriate usage of the word translated restitution. The 
primary sense is that of return to a former state, or a re- 
establishment; and its secondary is consummation or perfection. 
The restitution of all things, when spoken in connection with the 
power and coming of Him by whom all things were made, 
suggests the simple but awful consideration of what all things 
were at first; what they afterwards became; and what, according 
to the sacred oracles, they are to be hereafter. Three passages of 
scripture contain together the whole subject, collectively re- 
presented by Peter. "On the sixth day of the creation, God saw 
every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good " 
(Gen. i. 31). The times of restitution of all things which God 
hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world 
began, he confirms by the last words of prophecy, saying, 
"Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. xxi. 5). 

Peter recognizes this threefold distinction with reference to 
one and the s-ime material universe. In the concluding chapter of 
his second epistle, we find, 1. " The heavens were of old, and 
the earth" (verse 5); 2. "The heavens and the earth which 
are new" (verse 7); 3. " New heavens and a new earth" (verse 
13). The first perished, being overflowed with water; the second 
is reserved unto fire, and is to be dissolved; the third is the 
subject of promise and expectation. The same word perish, 
applied by Peter to the first, is used by Paul with reference to 
the second, and, qualified by his own explanation, gives the 
sense of dissolved, in the language of Peter. " They shall 
perish, but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a 
garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall 
be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail" 
(Heb. i. 11, 12). 

As the perishing of the old world was not its utter destruction, 



38 THE CRISIS. 

but a material alteration in its form, properties and appearance; 
so, from analogy, as well as direct inference from the text, the 
dissolution of the present world may be expected to amount to 
no more than a very material alteration, or such as may be 
signified by a change of raiment, which does not destroy the 
body, but may greatly increase its comeliness and beauty. 

Some analogy has ever been recognized between the two great 
works of God — creation and redemption; that as the one 
was finished in seven days, the other will be accomplished in 
seven thousand years. Peter admonishes the church, that " one 
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years 
as one day"; and as he is there speaking of the day of the Lord, 
" in which the heavens shall pass away, and the earth also, and 
the works that are therein shall be burned up," is not this day 
of the Lord to be identified with the thousand years six times 
specified by St. John in six successive verses (Rev. xx. 2-7), 
where he saw a new heaven and a new earth, and heard the word 
of regeneration sublime as the creative fiat, " saying unto him, 
It is done"? This is the declaration of Him who says " I am 
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end" (Rev.xxi. 5,6). 
It is his word written for our instruction, on whom the ends of 
the world are come. 

The last pages of the sacred volume are entitled to the same 
consideration as the first, and may be shown by internal evidence 
to refer to a dispensation here below. Some have contended for a 
mere allegorical sense and interpretation of the fall of man and 
the corruption of nature; and they would be as consistent in 
considering the recovery of man, and the restitution of all things, 
as an allegory also. How it has happened that so many pious and 
able men, convinced of the reality of the former on earth, should 
transfer the fulfilment of the latter beyond any sublunary state, it 
is not my province to explain; but it may be incumbent to give 
some reasons for such differences. The restitution, if its sense has 
been justly defined, can have little or rather no reference to 
heaven, or the kingdom thereof, generally so called. The subject 
of prophecy is that of prayer : A kingdom to come, in which 
the will of God shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. The 
first three chapters of the sacred record contain a history of the 
formation and corruption, and the last three may be considered 
as a prophecy of the reformation and restitution of all things. 
The former took place on earth, and therefore the latter may be 
expected to take place in a terrestrial state; but the inherent 
evidence of the prophecy seems plainly to declare it. 



RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS. 39 

1. The establishment of the New- Jerusalem is coincident with 
the downfal of the mystical Babylon. The same angel points out 
both : one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of 
the seven last plagues ( Rev. xxi. 9; compare with xvii. 1). 
Because when the seventh vial is poured out, the same voice is 
heard, saying, " It is done." And thus the downfal of Babylon, 
and the descent of the holy city from heaven, are synchronical; 
and if one takes place under a dispensation on earth, so also the 
other. 

2. A new earth is an earth still having its nations and kings. 
" For the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light 
of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour 
into it." 

3. It will appear by chap. xx. 9, that after the expiration of 
the thousand years, " Gog and Magog went up on the breadth of 
the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the 
beloved city." If this be that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, a 
church state on earth must be intended by the last chapters of the 
Apocalypse; for how are Gog or Magog, or any other enemies 
on earth, to encompass the mansions of the blessed above? Many 
other instances might be adduced, to show the inconsistency of 
placing the New-Jerusalem state beyond the confines and exis- 
tence of this terrestrial globe. 

The immediate successors of the apostolic church uniformly 
coupled the restitution of all things With the triumphant state of 
the church on earth : whereas the abusers of this doctrine, in 
subsequent times, have generally been disposed to assert their 
pre-eminence during the present disordered state of things; and 
have appeared more desirous of reigning without Christ over the 
earth in the present world, than of reigning with him upon it in 
the world or dispensation to come. 

The scriptural expectation of the church, wholly orthodox on 
this subject, never did and never can hold out any encouragement 
to pride or ambition. Spiritual or temporal, it seeks not the 
honour which cometh from man, but participates in earnest 
expectation of the creature, "waiting for the manifestation of 
the sons of God." " We know," says the apostle, " that the 
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until 
now." And the agonies are not the pangs of dissolution, but the 
struggles of life; because "the creature (or rather the creation) 
itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the 
glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. viii. 19, 20)^ 



40 THE CRISIS. 

With the new song 1 of the redeemed shall mingle the voice of 
angels, and the chorus of "every creature which is in heaven, 
and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, 
and all that are in them" (Rev. v. 9, 13; and in connection Ps. 
cxlviii.). And it will appear how far the restitution of all things 
will constitute that regeneration in which the Redeemer promised 
to his disciples that they should sit on thrones; and of which, in 
their intermediate state, they declare, with joyful anticipation, 
" We shall reign on the earth" (Rev. v. 10; vi. 10). Angels 
and saints before the throne of heaven; kings of the earth upon 
the earth; the sea and all that is therein; the redeemed and the 
regenerate, every creature, "the whole creation," once subject 
to vanity in hope; all are represented as rejoicing together in 
the accomplishment of the mystery of God. "And this is the 
mystery of his will, that in the dispensation of the fulness of 
times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both 
whu-h are in heaven and which are on earth" (Eph. i. 10). And 
thus wl;en the fulness of the times is come, the solemn declara- 
tion of the angel is made in the name of Him, " who created 
heaven and the things that therein are, and the earth and the 
things that therein are, and the sea and the tilings which are 
therein, that there should be a prophetic time no longer," or not 
360 years. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, 
when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God sh.ill be 
finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. "And 
the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, 
saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ" (Rev. x. 6, 11, 15; and Dan. xii. 

7). 

The restitution of all thing* is connected with the second 
advent, or rather mission of Christ to the jews. " He shall send 
Jesus which before was preached unto you of the house of Israel, 
whom the heavens must receive until ihe times of re>titution." 
And thus saith the Saviour by Hosea (v. 15), " I will go and 
return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence. " "And 
so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written, there shall come out 
of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from 
Jacob" (Rom. xi. 26). 

And again the restitution of Israel is spoken of in connection 
with, or under the figure of, the new creation " Behold, I create 
new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be re- 
membered nor come into mind. But be ye glad, and rejoice in 



RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS. 41 

that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, 
and her people a joy" (Isa. lxv. 17). If it should appear, by 
this passage, that the new heavens and earth are only figurative 
expressions for the restoration of Israel; yet the same expressions 
in Peter are clearly to be taken in a literal sense. He says " We 
look for new heavens and a new earth, according to his promises." 
It is all important that we always allow scripture to be its own 
interpreter, instead of the fancies of men. The promise referred 
to may be found in a corresponding passage, where new heavens 
are spoken of, in comparison with, and apparently distinguished 
from, the New Jerusalem church. "As the new heavens and the 
new earth which I will make shall remain before me, so shall 
your seed and your name remain" (Isa.lxvi. 22); and this will 
be when the Lord will "come with fire, and with his chariots 
like a whirlwind " ( lxvi. 15 ). " When he com^th out of his 
place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity." 
He hath promised, saying, " Yet once more I shake not the earth 
only, but also heaven; and this once more signified) the removing 
of those things that arc made, that those things which cannot be 
shaken may remain" (Heb. xii. 26; Hag. ii. 6, 15; Isa. xxvi. 
21). 

The first Adam was a figure of " Him that was to come," 
and is to come again : the second Adam, the Lord from heaven. 
"To the first was given dominion over the fish of the sea, and 
over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the 
earth" (Gen. i. 26). This dominion, lost by transgression, is 
restored to the Son of Man. "Thou madest him to have dominion 
over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his 
feet : all sheep and oxen; yea, and the beats of the field, the 
fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth 
through the paths of the sea. Lord our Lord, how excellmt is 
thy name in all the earth! " (Ps. viii. 6, 9). The comparison of 
this passage, as interpreted by Paul (Heb. ii. 6, 8), with I. Cor. 
xv. 28, manifestly proves the same to be the do uinion of the 
second Adam, and not of the first, and in a kingdom yet to 
come on the earth. " By one man sin entered into the world, 
and death by sin." "And to Adam he said, Cursed is the ground 
for thy sake; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the 
garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 
So he drove out the man, lest he should take of the tree of Hie." 
But the first promise of the Spirit to the churches is, " To him 
that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in 

3* 



42 



THE CRISIS. 



the midst of the paradise of God." This paradise will then be 
upon earth. "For the tree of life, and the leaves, are for the 
healing of the nations; and there shall be no more curse" (Rev. 
xxii. 2, 3). Consequently all the effects of sin will be done away. 
"For there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying-; 
neither shall there be any more pain, for the former thing's are 
passed away" (Rev. xxi. 4). 

The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the 
Devil. Satan was the author of all evil : lie was permitted to 
enter the first paradise, but will never gain admission into the 
second; for he is shut up till the thousand years are fulfilled, and, 
when loosed at their expiration, he is foiled in his last attempt 
against the camp of the saints, and is cast into the lake of fire 
(Rev. xx.). 

The church is God's husbandry, God's building. The Lord God 
planted a garden in Eden, and there he put the man whom he 
had formed in his state of innocence. The second paradise will 
be a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is 
God, to which the divine presence and communion will be re- 
stored. " For, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men; and 
he will dwell with them, and God himself shall be with them." 
All were once perfect, and all must be at length restored. The 
first Adam was formed at once in the perfection of manhood, 
and in the fulness of strength and of stature : the last Adam 
appeared as a babe; he grew up as a tender plant, and as a root 
out of a dry ground. The head of nature was gifted with all his 
knowledge at once : the head of grace increased in wisdom : 
the one was subject, by natural relation, to his parents; the other, 
by divine appointment, had no superior on earth. The first man 
was placed in a garden of delights; the second was led into a 
wilderness, and passed through a vale of tears : to the first, all 
creatures or creation were submissive, all nature tributary; the 
last was destitute of the refuge of the animal world — a place 
whereon to lay his head — and acknowledged his dependence in 
his civil relation by condescending to pay tribute to Caesar. The 
first Adam was a living soul ; the second made his soul an offering 
unto death for sin : the first was of the earth, and had dominion 
over it; the second refused the kingdom thereof, and descended 
into hades. But when he shall appear again as the Lord from 
heaven, and as a quickening spirit, all deficiencies in the original 
type will be supplied : the father of mankind will be fully re- 
presented in the glorious person of his antitype, the father of the 



RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS. 43 

age to come (Isa. ix. 6). He will quicken the mortal bodies of 
saints by his spirit which dwelleth in them, and they shall reign 
with him in life. " To him will be given dominion and glory and 
a kingdom, that all people and nations and languages should 
serve him" (Dan. vii. 14). "All things will be put under his 
feet : all sheep and oxen; yea, and all the beasts of the field, 
the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth 
through the paths of the seas" (Ps. viii. 6, 8). "His name will 
be excellent in all the earth; for the earth itself shall be re- 
newed" (Ps. cxiv. 30). The wilderness shall blossom again like 
Eden, and the desert like the garden of the Lord : the wolf and 
the lamb will feed once more together; the creation cease to 
groan : all will be restored, and every breach repaired. All the 
natural offspring of the first, who are also found among the 
spiritual seed of the second Adam, will be admitted "to eat of 
the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God " 
(Eev. ii. 7); when the whole mystical body shall come "unto 
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of 
Christ" (Eph. iv. 13). 

Considering the immense preparation made by the economy 
of redemption for the salvation of man, and the means possessed 
by nations professing the faith for the enlargement of the church 
of Christ, it is astonishing to a reflecting mind that so little should 
hitherto have been effected thereby for the world at large. The 
nations are still sitting in darkness; and the earth is still the 
habitation of cruelty, and as much filled with violence as in the 
days of Noah. The christian churches first planted are either 
altogether extinguished and swept from the earth, or have grossly 
degenerated from their primitive state of purity and simplicity. 
The prospect, lamentable as it is, is no other than that clearly 
delineated by the word of prophecy. But for want of attention to 
the light afforded by it in such darkness, as the expectation of 
the world and the practical efforts of the church are for the most 
part erroneous and ill directed, the potentates of the world are 
looking only to the enlargement of their dominions, and to the 
continuance of their dynasties; to the building up again those very 
establishments, and the continuation of that very system, against 
which divine judgments have hitherto, as in the days of Pharaoh, 
been executed in vain, or have produced no salutary effect. The 
churches are each looking to the propagation of their own pe- 
culiar tenets, and the protection of their private interests. The 
powers in existence, whether civil or ecclesiastical, appear 



44 THE CRISIS. 

equally blind to the great scriptural expectations of the church, 
and the judgments which are to begin at the house of God, and 
prepare for the restoration of his people. Hence the disposition 
to favour a falling- interest, and a blind indifference to that which 
is to rise again. " Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we 
will return and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of 
Hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall 
call them the border of wickedness, and the people against whom 
the Lord hath indignation forever. And your eyes shall see, and 
ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of 
Israel" (Mai. i. 4, 5). 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE COVENANT OF PROMISE, and VOICE OF THE CHURCH 
IN THE THREE FIRST CENTURIES. 

The chief object of all prophecy appears to be to prepare the 
church for the advent of Messiah, the manifestation of whose 
salvation and kingdom and glory, together with the various 
circumstances immediately connected with these matters, are the 
most prominent features of the prophetic page. Unless, therefore, 
we have in the outset a right apprehension of them, it is most 
probable that we shall fail to adopt correct principles of in- 
terpreting the prophecies which concern them. In order, however, 
to arrive at a proper apprehension of these things, it will be 
useful just to glance at the history of man's apostacy. 

By permitting man to fall at various periods into a state of 
disobedience and rebellion, and to experience the misery and 
darkness consequent on such a state, the Lord would apparently 
teach every order of intelligent beings — the thrones and prin- 
cipalities and powers in heavenly places, as well as the whole 
human race — that the strength of the creature, both moral and 
intellectual, is derived immediately from the Creator; and that 
the creature, therefore, cannot stand for one single moment up- 
right, but through the power of Almighty God. No natural or 
local circumstances, however advantageous; no external means 
of grace, however imposing; no inward talents or endowments, 
however dazzling, will avail of themselves to keep the creature 
erect, if he trust to them. He must look up throughout to God; 
he must learn that he is sustained in all respects by Him, "who 
giveth liberally and upbraideth not;" he must know that "in 
Him he lives and moves and has his being," or he will certainly 
apostatize. 

How various have been the trials vouchsafed to man! He was 
placed in a condition of nobility and innocence; and has fallen! 
He has witnessed the terrors of Mount Sinai and the glory of the 
Shechinah, and had the Lord speaking to him daily by his spirit 



46 THE CRISIS. 

in his prophets; and has fallen! He has been now for nearly two 
thousand years under a dispensation, which was ushered in with 
the most striking spiritual gifts and endowments; and yet he has 
been continually apostatizing, insomuch that we cannot place 
our finger on one single spot on the globe, where we are assured 
Christianity was enjoyed during the first three centuries in its 
purity, without perceiving at the same time the most lamentable 
historical proof connected with it, that man has fallen. And the 
prophetical account of the close of this dispensation shows, that 
with the exception of a very small remnant, an election upheld 
by grace, this fall will become universal and most signal. 

Man is further destined, in the dispensation which is ap- 
proaching, to enjoy a combination of all the advantages hitherto 
experienced from the foundation of the world, together with an 
unparalleled degree of splendour, power and prosperity; and we 
know that he is destined to fall; and then only will that great 
moral lesson be completed, which the Lord is thus practically, 
through every age, teaching his creatures, that they may know, 
throughout the eternity that remains, that God is all in all. 

Another great and important matter has, however, been gra- 
dually unfolding, parallel with the development of the apostacy of 
the creature; and that is the great plan of redemption through 
the Messiah, and of the ultimate restoration of man and of the 
world from all the disastrous effects of the curse. If the earth has 
been filled, ever since the fall, with violence and deceit and 
misery, arising from the influence of those unrighteous principles 
which the darkened mind of man has supposed to conduct to 
personal happiness, the word of prophecy has held out to the 
expectation of those who have been brought to understand the 
cause of their misery, not only a way of obtaining a pardon of 
their sins, but the prospect of a time when the creature shall be 
redeemed from the bondage of corruption, and from the vanity 
to which, through sin, he is subject; when wars shall cease in 
all the earth; when Satan, the great deceiver of the nations, shall 
be restrained and ultimately destroyed, and a reign shall ensue of 
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. In this 
period, even those on whom death hath passed shall be restored 
to life in a spiritual and heavenly body, which will no longer be 
the seat of sin, but in every respect a handmaid to the spirit : 
until which period, the dead in Christ rest from their labours. 

Various intimations of these things, prior to giving the law, 
might be pointed to; as the promise to Eve that the seed of the 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 47 

woman should bruise the serpent's head, which clearly has re- 
ference to the final destruction of the devil and all his works; and 
the prophecy of Enoch, which we know from Jude foretold the 
coming of the Lord with myriads of his saints. But we pass at 
once to the times of the covenant made with Abraham, and am- 
plified with Isaac and Jacob. And here the reader is requested to 
bear in mind that the covenant made with Abraham is what is 
called "the new covenant, and the covenant of promise;" for 
unless he be clear in this matter also, he will be unable to under- 
stand the hope of his calling in Christ Jesus, as set forth in the 
word of prophecy. It is the more needful to premise thus much, 
seeing that many even pious christians have but a vague notion of 
the nature of the covenant of grace. They seem not to understand 
that there is any document in existence, other than the whole of 
the New Testament, in which they suppose it to be throughout 
diffused, intermingled with the narrative, and moral precepts 
which also there abound; so that if any would obtain more 
definite ideas of it, they must, by a divine chemistry, decompose 
and separate the whole, and laboriously collect the scattered 
particles they want. But Paul puts the matter in a very clear 
and simple point of view, by informing us that it is the covenant 
made with Abraham which we are now under; for this covenant, 
he argues, "the law that was four hundred and thirty years 
after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none 
effect" (Gal. iii. 17). So that the instrument was in reality 
drawn up, and formally signed and sealed, in the days of the 
great father of the faithful; though, like other testaments, it was 
not published and fully acted upon till after the death of the tes- 
tator (Heb. ix. 15, 17). And thus it is evident that it is in 
relation to the period of its coming into force, not to the period 
of its being given, that it is called the new covenant ; being 
in reality an older covenant than that given through Moses. 

This covenant, which, as before observed, was first made with 
Abraham, and afterwards confirmed and amplified with Isaac 
and Jacob, is to be found in the following places : Gen. xii. 
1-3; xiii. 14-17; xv. 4-21; xvii. 4-16; xxii. 15-18; 
xxvi. 3, 4; xxviii. 13 - 15. There can be no doubt, since it is 
this covenant which Paul refers to, that it contains the substance 
of all those blessings afterwards enlarged upon by the prophets 
and apostles. The whole, however, appears reducible to three 
distinct heads, on each of which it will be necessary to offer a 
few observations. 



48 THE CRISIS. 

1. The/first is the promised seed If we consult Gal. iii. 16, 
we must feel persuaded that this has principally a reference to 
Christ, who is pre-eminently the seed in which all the nations of 
the earth are to be blessed (Gen. xxii. 18). For though the 
promise appears primarily to relate to Isaac, yet it is afterwards 
renewed to Isaac himself, and afterwards to Jacob in similar 
terms : " And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
blessed" (Gen. xxvi. 4; xxviii. 14) And as it would be absurd, 
on the one hand, to suppose that the seed of Jacob could mean 
Isaac his father; so, on the other hand, in reference to Jacob's 
posterity, there appears to be none eminently the child of promise 
excepting Christ. But besides this reference to Christ as the seed, 
the posterity of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are likewise spoken 
of in this covenant in a more general sense. First, they are 
expressly designated to Abraham, when God says "I will esta- 
blish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee 
in their generations, and I will be their God " (Gen. xvii. 7, 
8). Secondly, it is implied in the promise that God will multiply 
his seed as the stars of the heavens, as the sand upon the seashore, 
and as the dust of the earth (Gen. xv. 5; xvii. 2 — 4; xxii. 17; 
xxviii. 14; xxxv. 11) : which scriptures evince that multitudes 
are contemplated, and not the one individual Christ. And again 
it is evident in that the apostle declares, that " all who are mys- 
tically members of Christ are accounted as the seed and heirs 
according to the promise" (Gal. iii. 29). 

2. The second particular of this covenant, is the inheritance 
promised. The locality of this inheritance is more immediately 
Palestine in its fullest extent, from the river of Egypt, to the 
great river Euphrates (Gen. xv. 18 - 21). Now it is important 
to notice who are the parties that shall inherit this land according 
to the full meaning of the terms of the grant. Many are wont to 
limit the promise to the posterity of Abraham, who were led 
into Canaan by Joshua. Such an interpretation, however, will 
not, tor many reasons, answer, to the terms of the covenant. The 
promise of the land is, in the first instance, to Abraham and 
Isaac and Jacob personally and individually. To Abraham, the 
Lord said, "lam the Lord that brought thee out of Uz of the 
Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit" (Gen. xv. 7); "and 
I will give it to thee and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein 
thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting 
possession" (Gen. xxii. & xxiii. 14, 15). To Isaac the promise 
is similar : " Unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 49 

countries" (Gen. xxvi. 3). And so to Jacob : "The land 
whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed" (Gen. 
xxviii. 13). " The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, to 
thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land" 
(Gen. xxxv. 12). When the Lord afterwards appeared to Moses, 
he referred to the land as specially granted to all three of these 
fathers, together with their seed. "And I appeared unto Abraham, 
unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty; but 
by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them : and I have 
established my covenant with them, to give them the land of 
Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers" 
(Exo. vi. 3, 4). 

It is difficult to conceive language more explicit and precise, 
to signify that these patriarchs were severally themselves to 
inherit that land as possessors, and not as pilgrims, than the pas- 
sages which are here brought forward. Had Abraham received 
the promise in the first instance without any mention of his seed, 
and the promise had been referred to ever after as relating to his 
seed without mention being again made of him, it might then 
more plausibly have been inferred that the original grant never 
contemplated any other possessors; but the careful repetition of 
each of the patriarchs by his own name, togethi r with his pos- 
terity, "to thee and to thy seed," puts it beyond a reasonable 
doubt. No lawyer would ever think of interpreting such a title 
deed to their exclusion, otherwise than by arguing from the fact 
that they had all died without ever having received the promise, 
and therefore the inheritance was not designed for them. This, 
however, is made a ground of argument in scripture, that they 
are to inherit the land, only it is by means of a resurrection. 
For as Abraham was, we are assured, persuaded that God would 
have raised up Isaac from the dead, and have restored him had 
he actually sacrificed him on Mount Moriah (Heb. xi. 17 - 19); 
so it appears from the scriptures that he and the other patriarchs 
looked forward to the day of Christ as the period when these 
promises should ultimately be fulfilled (John viii. 5(5; Heb. xi. 
10, 11); and, with Daniel, they enjoyed the assurance that they 
should stand in their lot at the end of days. 

The circumstance that they are spoken of as pilgrims and 
strangers in respect to this very land, is of itself worthy of a 
particular remark, considering that the land is nevertheless so 
expressly promised to them. When Isaac sends Jacob to Padan- 
Aran, he uses these words : "And God Almighty bless thee," 
4 



50 



THE CRISIS. 



etc., "and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to 
thy seed with thee, that thou mayst inherit the land wherein thou 
art a stranger, which God gave to Abraham." This same Jacob 
afterwards declares himself, before Pharaoh, to be 130 years 
old. "Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, 
and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my 
fathers in the days of their pilgrimage" (Gen. lxvii. 9). 

The Lord, speaking to Moses, says, that "he established his 
covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land 
of their pilgrimage wherein they were strangers" (Exo. vi. 4). 
Stephen notices, that though God promised to give the land to 
Abraham for a possession, and to his seed after him, yet that he 
gave him none inheritance in it; no, not so much as to set his 
foot on (Acts vii. 4, 5). And how does Paul argue from all this? 
Why, that " these all died in faith, not having received the pro- 
mises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them 
and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and 
pilgrims on the earth; for they that say such things, declare 
plainly that they seek a country" (Heb. xi. 13, 14). His words 
before Agrippa plainly evince his expectation to have been that 
this promise should be fulfilled to the patriarchs by a resurrection. 
"And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise 
made of God unto our fathers; unto which promise, our twelve 
tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come : for 
which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. 
Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God 
should raise the dead? " (Acts xxvi. 6 - 8). Here the promise 
of the Lord to the fathers is placed in connection with the re- 
surrection of the dead as a means to fulfil it. It must have been 
this view which led the apostle to couple the promise to the 
fathers with the resurrection from the dead. There are not wanting 
plain and explicit references. Zacharias prophesied, at the cir- 
cumcision of John the Baptist, that "Jesus was raised up to 
perform the mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy 
covenant, the oath which he sware to our father Abraham" (Luke 
i. 72, 73). 

In this promise, however, as made to the seed of Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob, it must be borne in mind that Christ is pre- 
eminently the seed : consequently the promise of the inheritance 
must respect him, as well as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the 
other children of the promise; for indeed all the promises of 
God are in him, yea and in him amen. We find that the land of 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 51 

Palestine is called Emanuel's land, in connection with a pro- 
mise to Israel, that "a virgin shall conceive and bear a child, 
to be called Immanuel" (Compare Isa. vii. 14, and viii. 8). 

We shall indeed find a length and breadth in this part of the 
covenant, beyond what we have yet noticed; for the promise of 
Palestine, in the extent already pointed out, is, after all, but as 
a splendid inclosure within a more vast inheritance, standing in 
relation to the whole world like as Goshen did to the rest of 
Egypt. For the apostle says that the promise to Abraham was 
that he should be heir of the world (Rom. iv. 13); and this 
cannot apparently be gathered out of the original grant, excepting 
from the fact that he should be the father of many nations, and 
that out of him should come that company of kings who should 
be rulers over all other nations (Gen. xvii. 4; xxxv. 11); just 
as it is interpreted by the Psalmist, that they should be princes 
in all the earth (xlv. 16). And in these promises to Sarah : "And 
I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her." ( Mark the 
word also of this passage, as showing that this is not the seed 
primarily intended.) " Yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a 
mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her" (Gen. xvii. 
6). 

Grounded therefore on this portion of the covenant, was the 
expectation in regard to Christ, that he should rise to reign over 
the gentiles ( Rom. xv. 12 ) ; thus also expressed by David, 
"Arise, God! Judge the earth; for thou shalt inherit all na- 
tions" (Ps. lxxxii. 8). 

3. The third particular of the covenant to be noticed, is, that 
the great and only source of happiness to the creature is in the 
enjoyment of God himself. Without this, none can be truly 
blessed; and the more open and unclouded is the manifestation 
of the duty to the spiritual man, the more abundant is the bles- 
sedness enjoyed. That the immediate enjoyment of God forms 
part of the happiness promised to Abraham and his seed, may, 
therefore, be inferred from the mere fact that God blesses him, 
and declares that in blessing he will bless him (Gen. xxii. 17); 
for the possession of the world and of a countless offspring, and 
the having a numerous company of kings proceed out of his loins, 
were in itself a vanity, unless the enjoyment of God accompany 
the gift. But we are not left to deduce so important a conclusion 
from inference only. The Lord expressly declares, " Fear not, 
Abraham ! I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward " 
(Gen. xv. 1). And again, "I will establish my covenant between 



52 THE CRISIS. 

.me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their generations, for an 
everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and thy seed after 
thee, and will keep thee in all places whithersoever thou goest" 
(Gen. xxviii. 15). "And thy seed shall possess the gate of his 
enemies" (Gen. xxii. 17). 

In these promises are comprehended all spiritual blessings. 
Here is protection against enemies, in that God is to be with his 
people, and to compass them about as with a shield : here is the 
assurance of victory over all their enemies, that they may serve 
without fear before him : here is their present and final bliss, in 
the enjoyment of God as their exceeding great reward. And 
those things necessarily imply the personal sanctification of the 
people of God; for, without holiness, no man shall see the Lord; 
nor Crin God walk with any, or prove a reward to them, until 
there be in them a certain fitness of spirit to enable them to 
delight in God. But these things may be more directly inferred 
from the express terms of the covenant. When Isaac prays in 
behalf of Jacob, "God give thee the blessing of Abraham, to 
thee and to thy seed after thee, that thou mayest inherit the land,'' 
it is inferable that this blessing is needful, in its spiritual bearing, 
to enable any to be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance 
with the saints in light; and except they are thus blessed, they 
cannot inherit the land. So it is to be inferred from the right of 
circumcision then established; for we know from other scriptures 
that circumcision is of the heart ( Rom. ii. 29), and, therefore, 
that in its original institution it was not designed merely as a 
seal, but as a perpetual sign and admonition that they should 
circumcise the foreskin of the heart (Deut x. 16). In this light 
it seems to be that Abraham is assured that the uncircumcised 
shall be cut off from his people (Gen. xvii. 14); for as we do 
not find this scripture to have been fulfilled, either by the ma- 
gistrates or by divine judgments on Israel of the flesh, it might 
have had a reference to their being excluded or cut off from that 
general assembly of the saints, and church of the firstborn, whose 
names are written in heaven. 



CHAPTER VII. 



SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

And this part of the covenant must likewise have a reference, 
as all the rest has, to the seed, which is Christ. Does God co- 
venant to be the God of Abraham and his seed? So Jesus speaks 
of him expressly to his disciples, " as my God and your God" 
(John xx. 17). He it is whom the Lord specially covenants to 
be with, and "to keep him in all his ways, lest at any time he 
dash his foot against a stone" (Psalm xci. 12). He it is who 
causes the seed of the woman to bruise the serpent's head, and 
to speak with his enemies in the gate; and he it is most pre- 
eminently who proves a blessing to others (Gen. xii. 2, 3), and 
through whom blessings shall flow to all families of the earth. 
Believers in general prove a blessing as being the salt of the 
earth and the light of the world, and that out of their belly flow 
rivers of living water; but all that they have, which is gracious 
and profitable, they have received out of Christ's fulness; and 
the pardon of sin, and all direct spiritual aid, can only proceed 
to them through him. 

Now that the view here taken of the covenant throughout is 
not strained, but that the Spiiit of God did in subsequent ages 
explicate and set it forth to his church agreeably with this in- 
terpretation, will be evident by an appeal to the prophets; for 
they constantly couple the time of the great deliverance and re- 
demption with a return of Israel to Palestine, a regeneration of 
their hearts, a renewal of the earth, and the fact that the taber- 
nacle of God shall be with men; two or three conditions which 
plainly and unequivocally treat of the new covenant — which, it 
has been shown, can be no other than this covenant of promise 
to Abraham ( Deut xxx. 3 - 6 ) — and afford an instance that 
the possession of the land ultimately intended was to be ac- 
companied by the circumcision of the heart; and, therefore, no 
occupation of the land, hitherto enjoyed, can be the one intended, 
" Then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have com- 



54 



THE CRISIS. 



passion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the 
nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of 
thine be driven out unto the utmost parts of heaven, from thence 
will he fetch thee ; and the Lord thy God will bring thee into 
the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; 
and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 
And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart 
of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with 
all thy soul, that thou mayest live." 

Jeremiah, in chapters xxx. and xxxi. descants at length on 
the return of Israel to their land, their possessing it, and its great 
fertility at that time; and then (verse 31 - 34) declares, " Be- 
hold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; 
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in 
the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the 
land of Egypt, which my covenant they brake, although I was 
an husband unto them, saith the Lord; but this shall be the co- 
venant that I will make with the house of Israel : After those 
days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, 
and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they 
shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his 
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord ; for 
they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest 
of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I 
will remember their sin no more." 

In the xxxii. chapter the same is repeated, with the same 
circumstances of enlargement as to the spiritual blessings of the 
everlasting covenant, which again can only be that made with 
Abraham. " Behold, I will gather them out of all countries 
whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and 
in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and 
I will cause them to dwell safely; and tbey shall be my people, 
and I will be their God," etc. 

Ezekiel shows the same in chapter xi. 17 - 20. " Therefore 
say, Thus saith the Lord God, I will even gather you from the 
people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have 
been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. And they 
shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable 
things thereof, and all the abominations thereof from thence. And 
I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within 
you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, that they 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 55 

may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances and do them ; 
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." 

Again, the same prophet, in chapter xxxvi. 24-28, has much 
to the same purport. " For I will take you from among the 
heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you 
into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, 
and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your 
idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and 
a new spirit will I put within you." After which follows a pro- 
mise that the land shall become like the garden of Eden, and the 
waste and desolate and ruined cities become fenced and inhabited. 

That the preceding extracts refer to the christian covenant, is 
evident from the circumstance that some of them are brought 
forward by the apostle when arguing that the covenant of works 
is superseded (Heb. viii. 10). This covenant, therefore, is not to 
be arbitrarily divided, or limited by us. We are not at liberty to 
select those only of its particulars which may commend them- 
selves to our minds, but it must be received in that circumstan- 
tial fulness in which we find it to be understood and dilated upon 
by the prophets. 

At the same time, however, that the terms of the covenant are 
to be insisted on, yet I admit that there is an apparent difficulty 
in clearly distinguishing in all cases between what relates to 
Israel after the flesh, who shall then be nationally restored, and 
what relates to the spiritual Israel who will rise from the dead at 
that time. Most of the passages now cited relate evidently to 
Israel after the flesh, who shall then be alive ; because their 
hearts then only, according to the terms of the covenant, are to 
be regenerated ; whereas the departed saints of the israelitish 
nation, and all that election from among the gentiles who shall 
be accounted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection 
from the dead, have had their hearts previously sanctified by the 
Holy Spirit. Although some are of opinion that the saints will 
not be mingled at all with men in the flesh in the resurrection, 
or at least will only be occasionally manifested to them, I know 
of no decided scripture authority for such opinion. In the mean 
while, it is evident, from the terms of the covenant we have 
received, that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are again to dwell in 
the renewed earth; and as they will be of the resurrection, there 
seems no just reason why the rest of those who sleep in Jesus 
should not dwell on it likewise. It is also evident from Gal. iii. 
29; Rom. iv. 16; Eph. ii. 1 1 — 22, and iii. 6, that the elect 



56 THE CRISIS. 

gentiles are made partakers of the covenant of promise, without 
any distinction of nation, or any limitation as to its provisions. 
And it is further evident from Ps. xxxvii. 9, 11, 22, 29, 34, 
and Matth. v. 5, that the meek shall inherit the earth; a promise 
that seems especially to regard those who in all times have, for 
the Lord's sake, been followers of peace. I conclude, therefore, 
that the resurrection saints will undoubtedly dwell on the earth, 
and have power over the nations (Rev. ii. 26); though they will 
probably be nearer to God, and continually behold his glory in 
a manner that will not be enjoyed to the same extent by men of 
flesh and blood. But these subordinate details must be left till 
the Lord's advent, when all difficulties and obscurities will be 
cleared up. Most of them arise from our little faith, and our 
inability, through inveterate prejudices, to apprehend in many 
instances what is plainly revealed. 

Voice of the church in the first centuries. 

We propose now to consider what has been the voice of the 
church in its purest ages. 

It will perhaps be admitted by all christian readers, that the 
prophets certainly speak of a time of restitution of all things, 
seeing that the apostle Peter has plainly declared they do (Acts 
iii. 19 - 21). " Repent ye, therefore, and bo converted; that 
your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall 
come from (he presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus 
Christ which before was preached unto you, whom the heaven 
must receive until the time of restitution of all things which God 
hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world 
began." 

And perhaps it may be further conceded by many, that the 
passages of scripture which have been brought forward, do, at 
first view, seem to wear the aspect (here contended for; and yet 
because this system of interpretation does not fall in with the 
preconceived opinions of many, and has been directly contra- 
dicted in later times, therefore a question arises in the minds of 
some, whether, after all, the view here given be not more plau- 
sible than just, and a mere modern invention on the supposed 
orthodox method of interpretation of the inspired writers? 

In this respect, it appears of moment to inquire into the 
opinions and the system of interpretation maintained at different 
periods of the church of God, and to notice also the circum- 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 57 

stances which have at any time tended materially to warp or 
prejudice its judgment : for the voice of the mystical members 
of Christ's body is surely the Voice of the Spirit and the Bride; 
and that voice will not, therefore, pass unheeded by those who 
desire to understand the voice of God himself. And it is the more 
needful to insist on this point, seeing that men have at all times 
been, but more especially are they at present, disposed to dis- 
parage the voice of the church, when its sound has happened to 
be in opposition to their own opinions; and instead of showing a 
becoming diffidence of going counter to that voice, except for 
weighty and constraining reasons, have betrayed an utter reck- 
lessness of it altogether, as if our pious forefathers had been given 
up .to follow cunningly devised fables. The sentiments of the 
primitive fathers of the christian church have been, in like man- 
ner, at once discarded whenever they have seemed to contradict 
mere modern theories. At the present day, there is a growing 
disposition to treat the views of the lathers of the Reformation as 
the result of ingenious prejudice and antipathy against their papal 
enemies. 

Passing over much that would tend to strengthen the foregoing 
remarks, there is one thing we may at least assume, namely, 
that the interpretation of the scriptures as the church in the time 
of our Lord and the apostles were wont to do, if erroneous, would 
have been corrected or exploded; for it is quite irreconcilable 
with all reasonable notions to suppose that our Lord would con- 
stantly observe his pious followers to speak and hope erroneously 
on this or any other point, yet never disabuse them of their false 
conceits, the more especially as he did continually attack the 
false opinions of the pharisces and sadducees. We have, therefore, 
to inquire into the views entertained by the christians on this 
head in the age of the apostles, and in the centuries immediately 
succeeding. 

So far, then, as the testimony of the christian fathers, from 
the time of the apostles down to the time of Origen, is concerned, 
we have ample proof, in such of their writings as have come 
down to us, that it is similar to that of the Jewish church, only 
more explicit, as might be expected. Passing over some that 
might be noticed, we come to Polycarp, the contemporary of 
Papias and disciple of John. We may be assured of what was 
the drift and meaning of Polycarp, in such passages as the fol- 
lowing, in his Epistle to the Philippians : "If we please the 
Lord in this present world, we shall also be made partakers of 
4* 



08 THE CRISIS. 

that which [s to cotno, according as he hath promised us that ha 

Will raise us from the dead; ami that if we walk worthy of him, 
we shall also reigh together with him. Who of you are ignorant 
of the judgments of God? Do we not know that the saints shall 
judge the world, as Paul teaches? The God ami Father of our 
Lord .lesus Christ, &<•. grant unto you a lot and portion among 

liis saints, and us with \ou; and to all who, under the heavens, 
which shall believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, and in his Father 
who raised him from the dead. \\ 'hosoever perverts the oracles 
of God to his own lusts, ami says there shall be neither any re- 
surrection nor judgment, he is the firstborn of Satan." 

Justin Martyr is the next we notice. Born A. D. 89, and suf- 
fered a. D. 163, he must therefore have arrived at man's estate 
before Papias and Polycarp. Several of his works are extant, in 
which we have ample proof of the opinions which were held by 
the church in his days. In his Dialogue with Trypho, he says, 
C| I, and all that are orthodox christians, are acquainted with the 

resurrection of the body, and the thousand years in Jerusalem, 

that shall be re-edified, adorned and enlarged, as the prophets 
Iv/.ekicl, Isaiah and others declare. For Isaiah saith ( lxv. 17), 
v Behold I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former 
shall not be remembered nor come into mind : but be ye glad, 
ami rejoice in those which I create; for, behold, 1 create Je- 
rusalem to triumph, ami my people to rejoice,' etc. Moreover a 
certain man among us whose name was John, being one of the 

twelve apostles of Christ, in that revelation which was shown him, 
prophesied that those who believe in our Christ shall fulfil a 

thousand years at Jerusalem; and, alter that, the general, and, 

in a word, the everlasting resurrection ami last judgment ol all 

together, whereof also our Lord spake when he said that therein 
(hey shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but shall be 
equal with the angels, being made the sons of the resurrection of 

God." He speaks o\' his opinion being generally maintained by 

the orthodox, lie Bays, " I confess to thee, Trypho, that I and 
many others are of this opinion, etc.; and, on the contrary, I 
have signified that many, even those christians who follow not 
godly and* pure doctrines, do not acknowledge this; for I have 
demonstrated to thee (hat these are not christians, but are atheists 
and ungodly heretics, who altogether teach blasphemous, atheis- 
tical and unsound things." 

Irenams, in his testimony, is equally full and explicit with that 
of Justin. lie was martyred in 208 A. d. lie wrote five books 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 59 

on the heresies of his times. He speaks of John the apostle, of 
Poly carp as a hearer of John, and of himself as a hearer of 
Poly carp. 

The sentiments of Irenaeus on the question before us are given 
in the 32d chapter of his fifth book against heresies, in which he 
says, "It becomes needful to speak of them; for it is titling 
that the just, rising- at the appearing of God, should, in the re- 
newed state, receive the promise of inheritance which God co- 
venanted to the fathers, and should reign in it, and that then 
should come the final judgment. For in the same condition in 
which they have laboured and been afflicted, and been tried by 
suffering in all sorts of ways, it is but just that in it they should 
receive the fruits of their suffering; so that where, for the love 
of God, they suffered death, there they should be brought to 
life again; and where they endured bondage, there also they 
should reign. For God is rich in all things, and all things are of 
him; and therefore I say it is becoming that the creature, being 
restored to its original beauty, should, without any impediment 
or drawback, be subject to the righteous. This the apostle makes 
manifest in his epistle to the Romans. For the expectation of the 
creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God, etc.; 
for the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of 
corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. The 
promise, likewise, of God, which he made to Abraham, decided- 
ly confirms this; for he says ' Lift up now thine eyes, and look 
from the plain where thou art, northward and southward, and 
eastward and westward; for all the land which thou seest, to 
thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever' (Gen. xiii. 14, 15). 
And again, 'Arise, walk through the land in the length of it 
and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee' (verse 17). 
For Abraham received no inheritance in it, not even a foot- 
breadth, but always was a stranger and a sojourner in it; and 
when Sarah his wife died, and the children of Heth offered to 
give him a piece of land for a burial place, he would not accept, 
but purchased it for four hundred pieces of silver; staying himself 
on the promise of God, and being unwilling to accept from man 
what God had promised to give him, saying to him, To thy seed 
will I give this land, from the great river of Egypt, to the great 
river Euphrates. Thus, therefore, as God promised to him the 
inheritance of the earth, and he received it not during the whole 
time he lived in it, it is necessary that he should receive it, to- 
gether with his seed, that is, with such of them as fear God, and 
believe in him — in the resurrection of the just." 



60 THE CRISIS. 

He goes on to show that Christ and the church are also of the 
true seed, and partakers of the promises. " Thus, therefore, 
those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham, and the 
same are the children of Abraham : for God repeatedly pro- 
mised the inheritance of the land to Abraham and his seed; and 
as neither Abraham nor his seed, that is, those who are justified 
by faith, have enjoyed any inheritance in it, they will undoubted- 
ly receive it at the resurrection of the just. For true and un- 
changeable is God, whereof also he said, Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall inherit the earth." 

In his 34th chapter, he supports his statement by numerous 
quotations from the prophets; and as it is of interest to know 
what was the method of expounding or applying the prophetical 
scriptures in times so near the apostles, a brief extract is given 
as a specimen. " Isaiah plainly declares similar happiness at the 
resurrection of the just; thus, saying ' Thy dead men shall arise, 
and those in the tombs shall arise; and they shall rejoice who 
are in the earth, for thy dew is salvation to them' (Isa. xxxvi. 
19). ' Behold I will open your graves, and lead forth from their 
sepulchres my people; and I will put the spirit in you, and ye 
shall know that I am the Lord ' (Ezek. xxxvii. 12 - 14). And 
again the same saith ' These things saith the Lord, When I shall 
have gathered Israel from the nations among whom they are 
scattered, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to 
my servant Jacob, and they shall dwell safely therein, and shall 
build houses and plant vineyards' (xxviii. 25, S6)." 

Then follow Jer. xxiii. 7, 8; Isa. xxx. 25, 26, and lvi. 14; 
Luke xii. 27-30; Rev. xx. 6; Isa. vi. 11; Dan. vii. 27; 
Isa. xxxi. 10 - 15; xxxi. 9; xxxii. 1; liv. 11 - 14, and lxv. 
18 - 20. "Be ye glad, and rejoice forever in that which I 
create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her 
people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my 
people; and the voice of weeping shall be heard no more in her, 
nor the voice of crying, etc. For the child shall die an hundred 
years old; but the sinner, being a hundred years, shall be ac- 
cursed." 



CHAPTER VIII, 



SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONCLUDED. 

Tertullian, Bishop of Carthage, A. d. 180, in the twenty- 
fourth chapter of the third book of his Apology against Marcion's 
heresies, says, "For we also confess that a kingdom is promised 
us on earth, before that in heaven, but in another state, namely, 
after the resurrection; for it will be for a thousand years, in a 
city of divine workmanship, to wit, Jerusalem brought down 
from heaven; and this city Ezekiel knew, and the apostle John 
saw. This, we say, is the city provided of God to receive the 
saints in the resurrection, wherein to refresh them with abundance 
of all spiritual good things, in recompence of those which, in the 
world, we have either despised or lost. For it is both just and 
worthy of God, that his servants should there triumph and rejoice, 
where they have been afflicted for his name's sake : this is the 
manner of the heavenly kingdom." 

Tertullian further says it was a custom of his time for chris- 
tians to pray that they might have a part in the first resurrection; 
and Cyprian, who flourished about A. D. 220, informs us that 
the thirst for martyrdom which existed among christians, arose 
from their belief that those who suffered for Christ would obtain 
a more distinguished lot in his kingdom. From which we per- 
ceive how highly practical that doctrine was which could make 
men even court death, and take joyfully the spoiling of their 
goods, and to suffer torture, not obtaining deliverance, that they 
might obtain a better resurrection (Heb. xi.). 

With Origen a new era commenced in the history of prophetic 
interpretation. Owing, however, to the influence, the talent and 
learning of Origen, his allegorizing system soon began to obtain 
with many; insomuch that Nepos, a pious and talented bishop of 
Egypt, was prompted to write a book, entitled "The Reprehen- 
sion of Allegorizers," which was specially directed against those 
who now began to explain the millennium figuratively. After the 
death of Nepos, Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, a zealous 



62 



THE CRISIS. 



disciple of Origen, perceiving- that the views of Nepos overthrew 
the principles o[ his master's system, laboured to refute them, 
and with such success as to draw over certain followers. Eu- 
sebius preserves the account, and relates that Dionysius. in the 
pursuit of his object, was led to question the canonical authority 
of the Apocalypse. 

Mosheini observes, that long- before this controversy, an opi- 
nion had prevailed that Christ was to come and reign a thousand 
years on earth among men, before the entire dissolution of this 
WOfld; that this opinion had hitherto met with no opposition, 
and now its credit began to decline, through the Influence and 
authority of Origen, who opposed it with the greatest warmth, 
because ii was incompatible with some favorite sentiments of his. 

Jerome had himself, in a measure, imbibed the leaven of it, 
as appears from Luther, who says, in his Annotations on Deu- 
teronomy, ' k That which I have so often insisted on elsewhere, 
1 have once more repeated, that, the christian should direct his 
first efforts towards understanding the literal sense, as it is called, 
of scripture, which alone is the substance ol' faith and of christian 
theology; width alone will sustain him in the hour of trouble 
and temptation, and which will triumph over sin, death, and the 
gates o( hell, to the praise and glory of God. The allegorical 
sense is commonly uncertain, and by no means safe to build our 
faith upon; for it usually depends on human opinion and con- 
jecture only, on which, if a man lean, he will find it no better 
than the egyptian reed. Therefore, Origen, Jerome, and similar 
of the fathers are to be avoided, with the whole of that Alexan- 
drian school, which, according to Eusebiusand Jerome, formerly 
abounded in this species of interpretation] for, later writers, 
unhappily following their too much praised and prevailing ex- 
ample, it has come to pass that men make jusl what they please 
of the scriptures, until some accommodate the word oi' God to 
the most extravagant absurdities." 

Milner, in his Church History, says, "No man, not altogether 
unsound and hypocritical, ever injured the church of Christ 
more than Origen did. A thick mist has pervaded the christian 
world, supported and strengthened by his allegorical manner of 
interpretation." 

The next is Lactantius, who flourished in the time of Con- 
stantine. Speaking of the coming o( God to judge the World, he 
says, '• Knt he shall do that, and shall restore the just that have 
been from the beginning, unto life : he shall converse among 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 63 

men a thousand years, and rule them with a most righteous go- 
vernment." This he proclaims, saving-, "Hear me, ye men! 
The Eternal King- doth reign! Then they that shall be alive in 
their bodies shall not die, but shall generate 'an infinite multitude, 
and their offspring- shall be holy and dear to God; and they that 
shall be raised from the dead, shall be over the living- as judges. 
And the heathen shall not be utterly extinguished, but some shall 
be left for the victory of God, that they may be triumphed over 
by the just, and reduced to perpetual servitude. About the same 
time, the Prince of Devils, the forger of -all evil, shall be bound 
with chains, and shall be in custody all the thousand years of the 
heavenly empire under which righteousness shall reign over the 
world." 

Methodius, Bishop of Olympus, who suffered martyrdom in 
3l~, says, in his book on the resurrection, written against Orig-en, 
" It is to be expected, that at the conflagration, the creation 
shall suffer a vehement commotion, as it it were about to die; 
whereby it shall be renovated, and not perish; to the end that 
we, then also renovated, may dwell in the renewed world free 
from sorrow. Thus, it is said, in Ps. civ., ' Thou wilt send forth 
thy spirit, and they shall be created; and thou wilt renew the 
face of the earth,' etc. For, seeing- that alter this world there 
shall be an earth, of necessity there must be inhabitants; and 
these shall die no more, but be as angels irreversibly in an in- 
corruptible state, doing- all most excellent things." 

Epiphanius, who flourished 365, mentions the doctrine being- 
held by many in his time. He speaks favorably of it himself, 
quoting the words of Paulinus, bishop of Antioch, concerning 
one Vitellius, whom he highly commends for his piety, ortho- 
doxy and learning-. He says, moreover, tf Others have affirmed 
that the venerable man should say, that in the first resurrection, 
we shall accomplish a certain millenniary of years," etc. On 
which Epiphanius observes, ''And that indeed this millenniary 
term is written of in the Apocalypse of John, and is received of 
very many of them that are g-odlv, is manifest." 

But the most important testimony in regard to the prevalence 
of this doctrine during the fourth century, is the countenance 
given to it by the Council of Nice, called by Constantino the 
Great in 325. This council, besides their definition of faith and 
canons ecclesiastical, set forth certain forms of ecclesiastical 
doctrines. Some of these are recorded by Celasius Cyzieenus; 
among which is the following, on the last clause of the Nicene 



64 THE CRISIS. 

Creed, * I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of 
the world to come' : " The world was made inferior, through 
foreknowledge; for God saw that man would sin. Therefore we 
expect new heavens and a new earth, according to the holy 
scriptures, at (he appearing of the Great God and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ. And as Daniel says (vii. 18), ' The saints of the 
Most High shall take the kingdom, and there shall be a pure and 
holy land, the land of the living, and not of the dead;' which, 
Davll, foreseeing with the eye of faith, exclaims 'I believe to 
see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, the land of 
the meek and humble.' ' Blessed,' saith Christ, ' are the meek; 
for they shall inherit the earth ' (Mat. v. 5). And the prophet 
Isaiah, 'The feet of the meek and humble shall tread upon it.' " 
Thus the majority of the church must, at the period of this 
council, have still adhered to the primitive method of interpreta- 
tion. 

If we consider the voice of the church during that long period 
of darkness which elapsed from the time of Jerome to the re- 
formation, we find it important, and very interesting as regards 
prophecy, not from its supplying us with evidence in behalf of 
the primitive mode of interpretation, but from its showing how 
that evidence which previously existed has been tampered with 
and thrust aside. 

We have already seen that a new character was given to the 
system of scripture interpretation in the time of Origen, and that 
this new allegorizing system very materially affected the prophe- 
cies. But another circumstance occurred in the century following, 
which shortly after began to exercise a far more considerable 
influence upon the interpretation of prophecy; an influence which 
kept gradually but rapidly increasing till the time of Jerome, and 
downwards through the papal ages. It prompted men to resort to 
various wicked artifices, in order to get rid of the primitive 
millennarian doctrine. This event was the conversion of the 
Roman emperor to the christian faith. It was the uniform and 
constant opinion of the christian church previous to this period, 
that Rome would become the seat of Antichrist; that the empire 
would, by a revolution, be first divided into ten kingdoms; that 
then Antichrist would be revealed, and prosper for a time; and 
that after the reigning power should have suffered a signal dis- 
comfiture, the dominion should be altogether taken from the 
Eternal City. Such a notion could not be palatable to the Roman 
emperor, if known to him ; and the less so, if it was further 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 65 

understood that some, in times of pagan persecution, had already- 
mused in their hearts whether the emperor himself, for the time 
being., were not personally the antichrist. These things must have 
been very perplexing to those ecclesiastics now mingling with 
the court, who were of a compliant and secular spirit; which 
may be judged of, when we find an honest and bold godly man 
like Lactantius, now expressing himself with avowed reluctance 
on these topics. He says, " The Roman power, which now go- 
verns the world — my mind dreads to declare it, yet 1 must speak 
it, because it will surely come to pass — the Roman power will 
be taken away from the earth, and the empire will return into 
Asia, and the East will again have the chief dominion, and the 
West will be in subjugation" (De Instit. ch. xv.). 

The convenient explication, however, was soon afterwards 
discovered, and adopted by many, that Antichrist was Pagan 
Rome; and that from the date of Constantine's conversion, the 
millennium commenced. And though the advocates of such an 
opinion were obliged to maintain that Satan was bound during 
the time of the rancorous dissensions and persecutions which 
arose in the church on the Arian controversy ; and notwithstanding 
those daily other evils, temptations and deceits constantly expe- 
rienced during the supposed thousand years, when Satan must 
necessarily have been bound, and yet of course the author of all 
these evils; still, able men were found to maintain such an in- 
terpretation. Yea, even protestant writers, such as Grotius and 
his followers, have, at a much later period, adopted the opinion, 
namely, that of considering the darkest period of papal history 
as the one of greatest light and glory to the church. 

In this manner was the doctrine of the millennium — and that 
immediately concerned the revelation of antichrist, so intimately 
connected with it — corrupted, misrepresented, slandered, or 
suppressed; on which Bishop Newton, in his 25th dissertation 
on the prophecies, has some observations so pertinent and judi- 
cious, that they will serve for a conclusion to this section. He 
says, " In short, the doctrine of the millennium was generally 
believed in the three first and purest ages; and this belief, as the 
learned Dodwell has justly observed, was one principal cause of 
the beatitude of the primitive christians. They even coveted 
martyrdom, in hopes of being partakers of the privileges and 
glories of the martyrs in the first resurrection. Afterwards this 
doctrine grew into disrepute, for various reasons. Some, both 
Jewish and christian writers, have debased it with a mixture of 
5 



66 THE CRISIS. 

fables : they have described the kingdom more like a sensual 
than a spiritual kingdom; and thereby they have not only ex- 
posed themselves, but, what is infinitely worse, the doctrine 
itself, to contempt and ridicule. It hath suffered by the mis- 
representations of its enemies, as well as by the indiscretions of 
its friends. Many, like Jerome, have charged the millennaries 
with absurd and impious opinions which they never held : they 
have not scrupled to call into question the genuineness of the 
book of the Revelation. Besides, wherever the influence and 
authority of the church of Rome has extended, she hath en- 
deavoured by all means to discredit this doctrine, and indeed not 
without sufficient reason ; this kingdom of Christ being founded 
on the ruins of the kingdom o-f Antichrist. No wonder, therefore, 
this doctrine lay depressed for ages. All the danger is, on one 
side, of pruning and lopping it too short; and, on the other, of 
suffering it to grow too wild and luxuriant. Great caution, sober- 
ness and judgment are required to keep the mid 1le course. It is 
safest and best faithfully to adhere to the words of scripture, and 
to rest contented with them till time shall accomplish all the 
particulars. 

Next may be instanced the views of Bishop Latimer, Having 
spoken, in his third sermon on the Lord's prayer, of a future 
parliament, differing from the parliaments of this world; a par- 
liament in which Christ shall have the rule, and not men; and 
which the righteous pray for when they say ' Thy kingdom 
come,' because they know that therein reformation of all things 
shall be had; he presently after has these words : " Let us, 
therefore, have a desire that this day may come quickly; let us 
hasten God forward; let us cry unto him day and night, Most 
merciful father, thy kingdom come ! Paul saith, the Lord will 
not come, till the swerving from the faith cometh ( II. Thes. ii. 
3); which thing is done and past. Wherefore the day is not far 
off. Peter saith the end of all things draweth near. Peter said so 
at his time : how much more shall we say so; for it is a long 
time since Peter spake these words! The world was ordained to 
endure, as all learned men affirm, and prove it with scripture, 
six thousand years : so there is no more left but 448 ; and, 
furthermore, these days shall be shortened for the elect's sake.'* 

The martyr Bradford, on Rom. viii., expresses the same 
expectation. " This renovation of all things, the prophets do 
promise when they promise new heavens and a new earth; for 
a new earth seemeth to require no less renovation of earthly 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 67 

things, than new heavens do of heavenly things. But these things 
the apostle doth plainly affirm, that Christ will restore even 
whatsoever be in heaven and in earth (Col. i.)." 



Conclusion. 

A circumstance worthy of remark in tliis century, is the decay 
of vital godliness among the different denominations, and with it 
a growing neglect of the great truths of prophecy. For it can- 
not be denied, that in order to attain to any thing like a tolerable 
apprehension of the prophetical portion of the oracles of God, it 
is at least necessary to stick by them, and to become familiar 
with the text itself; and where the natural taste of individuals 
is not for study, there is a great disinclination to the labour of 
entering upon a careful investigation of prophecy, which is only 
to be overcome by the stimulus which true piety supplies. And 
indeed we would put it to the conscience of some pious persons 
in modern times, whether the apprehension of the labour of 
studying prophecy has not so prevailed over them, as effectually 
to prejudice their minds against the subject ? 

That I have not been far from the truth, when I said there is 
a decay of vital godliness in this century, I would refer to a fact, 
that an annual sermon was, about the middle of the last century, 
appointed to be preached at Great Eastcheap, exclusively on 
prophecy, for the purpose of preventing the subject from sinking 
altogether into oblivion. Various sermons, preached on tins oc- 
casion by the eminent Dr. John Gill, a decided millenarian, are 
in existence, in winch he deplores not the neglect of prophecy, 
but the decay of genuine piety. In his discourse on Isaiah xxi. 
11, 12, he observes, "A sleepy frame of spirit has seized us. 
Bo:h ministers and churches are asleep; and being so, the enemy 
is busy in sowing the tares of errors and heresies, and which will 
grow up and spread yet more and more. Coldness and indifference 
to spiritual things; a want of affection to God, to Christ, his 
people, truths and ordinances, may easily be observed. The first 
love is left; and because iniquity abounds, the love of many 
waxes cold. If it should be asked, What is it with us? — the 
text is on the question, Watchman, what of the night? — as a 
faithful watchman, I will give you the best account I can. I take 
it, we are in the Sardian Church state : we are in the decline of 
that state; for there are many tilings said of that church, which 



68 THE CRISIS. 

agree with us : That we have a name; that we live, and are 
dead — the name of the reformed churches — but without the 
life and power of true religion; and there are few, and but a 
few names among us, which have not denied their garments with 
false doctrine or superstitious worship." 

The frequency with which Dr. Gill was himself called on to 
preach this annual sermon — he preached it seven years in 
succession — seems to indicate the dearth of ministers who took 
heed to prophecy at all; end even these sermons are very super- 
ficial, and inferior to the other works of that learned expositor 
on this subject. 

We now arrive to the consideration of the voice of the church 
in our own times. A remarkable impetus has been given to the 
investigation of prophecy, by the striking events which have 
accompanied and succeeded to the French revolution; an event, 
which, though arriving at the latter end of the preceding century, 
belongs more properly, so far as the consideration of its in- 
fluence on prophecy is concerned, to the present. Many have 
concluded it to be that great earthquake or revolution mentioned 
in the Apocalypse; in regard to which, Sir Isaac Newton pre- 
dicted, that when it should occur, a flood of light would be 
thereby cast on prophecy. And the events which are now daily 
transpiring, and deepening in interest throughout the world, have 
tended considerably to awaken in men's minds the expectation 
that some more important crisis is at hand; which is not weak- 
ened, in the judgment of the intelligent observer, by the circum- 
stance that there has likewise been a great revival of true religion 
and piety among many denominations of christians, and that 
unparalleled exertions are made to spread the gospel both at 
home and abroad For it is to be expected, if we are approach- 
ing to the termination of a dispensation, that the Lord would 
previously effectually call out his elect remnant, and gather 
them from the four winds; in the same manner that, before the 
breaking up of the Jewish dispensation, we perceive that there 
was a considerable election among them, insomuch that a great 
company of priests was obedient to the faith. 

The voice of the church at this time, so far as the students of 
prophecy and the writers thereon are concerned, has become 
very unequivocally millenarian. It cannot be denied, even by 
those who are still unfriendly to the doctrine, that the attention 
of christians has been greatly excited of late towards the Advent 
of the Lord Jesus Christ; insomuch that the circumstances of 



COVENANT OF PROMISE. 69 

the church resemble much that of the virgins in the parable, 
awakened by the cry "Behold the bridegroom cometh!" and 
arising- and shaking themselves from their slumbers. 

With the exception of Mr. Faber, there is scarcely to be 
found a writer on prophecy, of any eminence, in the present 
century, who rs not looking for the pre-millennial advent of 
Christ, 



CHAPTER IX, 



SIGNS oh' THE TIMES. 



No one cad ever expect to reign with Christ, the Glorious King 

and Head of the Church, until he has Learnt by experience, first, 

what it is to sutler with him and tor him in this life; and, se- 
condly, what sailh the scripture on this part (licit. \i. 1*2; I. 

Cor, iv. 0- 13). 

\^ Christ, our Great Captain of Salvation, was made perfect 
through suffering; so also must all his true followers go into and 
through the furnace of affliction, before they can reign with him 
in glory. "Therefore 1 endure all things tor the electa sake : 

for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him; lor if 
we SUfifer," ete. (II. Tim. ii. 10 - L3). 

The first advent of Christ was ;i slate of humiliation and suf- 
fering : he came to give his life ;i ransom for his people, for 
those given him in the eo\ enant of redemption. II"* sustains a 
threefold Office. Ho was fust revealed as the seed of the woman, 
who should bruise the head of the serpent; and it hath pleased 
God to make the captain of our sa hat ion perfect through suffering. 

The God-Man Christ Jesus must first suffer the whole penalty of 
the law, before he can reign as king in Sion : he must wear or 

hear the cross, before he shall he crowned King of kings and 
the Lord of glory; lor it behoved him to fulfil all righteousness, 
before his exaltation to universal dominion over the earth. 

The way of duty, only, is the way of safety for anj one to he 

found walking in; for all the promises of God, to the humble 
followers o\ Jesus' Christ, are to them only who keep within tho 
line of duty. 'This the Devil himself was well aware of, when, in 
his temptation of Christ on the pinnacle of the Temple, he re> 
sorted to a perversion of the scripture quotation, in order to effect 
his wicked purposes on the Divine Redeemer. And this affords a 
very instructive case for the christian well to ponder, that he 
ma\ understand the arts and subtlety of the wicked ouo who 

goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking Whom he may devour. 



SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 71 

Satan, having got the Saviour on a high tower or pinnacle, from 
whence he knew it would be sure death for any man to cast 
himself down, saith unlo him, " If thou be the son of God, cast 
thyself down; for it is written, He shall give his angels charge 
concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest 
at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." The subtlety of 
this temptation, I conceive, is in the perversion of the scripture 
by leaving out a part of the original from which he auoted (Ps. 
xci. 10, 11, 12). 

As Christ came to fulfil all righteousness, this righteousness, 
founded on the moral law of God, involved an infallible rule of 
moral duty, binding on every human being. Christ was under 
this law in a twofold sense : as man, being made under the law, 
he must obey the law; as the God-man, the mediator, he was 
under it by an everlasting covenant with the Father. Now, had 
Christ, as man only, thrown himself down, it would have been 
as much a breach of moral duty as in any other man who should 
presumptuously leap from a precipice. Had he, as the God-man, 
cast himself down; then, to save his life, he must have worked 
a miracle to gratify the devil. So in neither case could he yield 
to the temptation : it would have been stepping over the line of 
duty, and out of the reach of the promise. The whole passage 
from which the devil quoted, is, "Because thou hast made the 
Lord which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation. '' 
Then follows the promise ! "There shall no evil befal thee; 
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling : for he shall 
give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ivays; 
they shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot 
against a stone. 5 ' 

how scrupulous the Saviour ever was in the way of duty! 
Instead of yielding to the temptation, he gives Satan a sharp 
rebuke from the same word of God. "Jesus said unto him, It is 
written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." 

Satan, having been foiled in his design upon Mm who is 
stronger than the strong man armed, with all his wicked hellish 
devices, makes another attack on the Lord Jesus. "Again the 
Devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and 
showeth him all the kingdoms of the world,. and the glory of 
them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if 
thou wilt fall down and worship me." 

Had the Devil succeeded in this attempt upon the moral in- 
tegrity of Jesus, he would have had no need of dividing his 



72 THE CRISIS. 

large patrimony among the Balaks, Balaams, Judases, and all 
the proud haughty tyrants of the world ever since. But instead 
of success upon the Saviour, he receives another sharp rebuke, 
which caused the Devil to leave the Redeemer, that he might 
occupy a more extended field in the world; ever holding out 
the great and splendid gift of all the kingdoms of the world, and 
the glory of them, only on the simple and harmless condition (as 
many think, it would seem by their practice) of acknowledging 
his sovereignty. Yes ! the sovereignty of the devil is what he 
has been permitted to exercise over this apostate world, ever 
since he was banished from heaven; and he will continue to 
exercise it, until he shall be bound and cast into the bottomless 
pit (Rev. xx. 3). 

And if we follow him a little in his extended field of opera- 
tions, we shall perceive that he has not been idle since; as, in 
the great warfare carried on between God and Satan in this 
lower world, it has been remarked that the infernal leader has 
ever been a close observer, in order that he may be a successful 
imitator of the plans of his almighty adversary. Many instances 
of this may be given When Moses attests his divine commission 
by the performance of miracles, the magicians are employed by 
Satan to copy and confront these miracles by their enchantments. 
When the divine husbandman sows his good seed in his field, 
the enemy is ever at hand to sow his tares also. When God be- 
comes incarnate, and thus acts by the assumption of a common 
nature with intenser influence upon man, Salan for the first time 
makes trial of the effect of demoniacal possession. When Chris- 
tianity is to manifest its divine original by rising from weakness 
into strength, and by its wide diffusion throughout the earth, 
Satan follows up the plan, and presents in mahometanism a rival 
and a counterpart of God's design. Thus has the great deceiver, 
like an inferior opposed to a superior, gained skill from his 
adversary, watched his movements, and always endeavoured to 
turn those movements upon himself. 

The wise, holy, and splendid economy of the Jewish dispensa- 
tion could not have escaped the vigilant eye of Satan. He often 
visited Jerusalem and went about Sion; marked well her bul- 
warks, and counted all her towers. He saw and observed the 
intricate macliinery of God's plan in the whole polity of that 
amazing people : he saw its admirable adaptation to engage and 
to impress the mind; the interesting and attractive character ot 
its public worship; the gaiety and grandeur of its ceremonial, 



SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 73 

all rendered impressive by the mysterious and material presence 
of God. He perceived the connection of that system with local 
associations, and with the pride of ancestry. He witnessed that 
which was its masterpiece — its power of preserving its members 
in distinct communion from the rest of mankind; and that they 
alone were the people of God, and heirs of eternal salvation. 

Such was Judaism. It was no other than a system of God's 
own framing- : it was a weapon which he has thrown aside, and 
which Satan has taken up against him. In a word, when the 
Almighty brought in the higher and more spiritual dispensation 
of the gospel, and when persecution from without and heresies 
from within had successively and abortively assailed the citadel 
of God, the Devil, as his last — the protestant church will say, 
but I say his best — expedient, brought in the substance of Judaism 
again under the name and title of the Catholic Church. And 
what then! Has the Devil, that old serpent, become bankrupt, 
and quit his former operations ? Oh no ! If he began on the 
christian church with his Judaism, let us follow him a little in 
his isms or schisms in the protestant church, and see if he has 
not a much wider swoop in what is called the christian 'pro- 
testant church. 

Why he has, in truth, inundated the world! The very antitype 
of Noah's flood, he covers the whole earth under the whole 
heavens. Where is there a nook or corner of the earth, in which 
he is not at work with his isms and schisms, sowing the seeds 
of discord; setting father against son and son against father, and 
mother against daughter, and where a man's enemies are em- 
phatically the members of his own household ! Let us take a 
survey of the complicated machinery which Satan is using at the 
present day to accomplish his wicked designs. 

First, Puseyism, which is designed to identify more closely 
with the essence of popery ; and, next, Unitarianism, denying 
the divinity of Christ, in order to increase the despotism of the 
church. These two are powerful weapons which Satan is using 
to disorganize and dismember the body of Christ in the church; 
that seamless garment which it ought to exhibit on earth, a unity 
of principle and practice among all its members. 

Again, as every ism causes a schism in the body, it will be 
seen that Satan's armoury is not yet exhausted; for he- has at 
hand a whole host of his isms and schis??is : Armcnianism, 
Universalism, Unitarianism, Presbyterianism, Puseyism, Old- 
lightism, Newlightism, Nolightism, Oddfellowism, Fatalism, 
5* 



7 1 TIIK CRISIS. 

Mesmerism, Socialism, Mormonism, Animalmagnetism, Phre* 
nologism-, Americanism, Whiggism, Locdfocoisra, Clayisni, 
Polkism and oppression, dealing in slaves and souls of men, all 
combined in the triangle of Jacobinism, Atheism and Despotism; 

and we may add Millorism. In all these arc combined (hose three 
unclean spirits out of the mouth of the dragon, beast, and false 

prophet; being the spirits of devils, £one forth now in the very 

time in which the following passage of scripture applies ! M Tor 
if we sin wilfully after that we have come to a knowledge of the 
truth, there remaineth uo more sacrifice for sin, but a certain 
fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall 
devour the adversaries" (Heb. \. ~(>, '27). "The stone which 
the builders refused, has become the head stone of the corner" 

(I's. CXviii. 22). "And whosoever shall fall On this stone, shall 

be broken (or broken off); but on whomsoever it shall fall, it. 
will grind him to powder" ( Matth. wi. 11). Here, it will be 

perceived that the weighl and measure of the wrath of God 

against the impenitent will be in exact proportion to the light 
and means of grace sinned against. 

The jews lived under a dispensation of types and shadows of 
good things to come : their future State and condition as a church 

and people of God, was revealed to the apostle, as well as that 
of the gentile church. " 'Therefore the kingdom of God shall be 

taken from you (the jews), and given to a nation bringing forth 

the fruits thereof (the gentile or heathen nations): and whosoever 

shall fall on this stone shall be broken (or broken off); bin on 

whomsoever it shall tall, it. will grind him to powder" (Matth. 

wi. 1'J, 43, I I). What a comment is this, from the lips ol the 

Saviour, on the following prophecy of Daniel : "Thousawest 

till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image 
upon his feel that were Of iron and clay, and brake them to 
pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the sil\cr and the 

gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the 

summer threshing lloors J and the wind carried them away, that 
no place was found for them; and the stone (hat smote the image 

became a great mountain, ami filled (he whole earth. And (hen 

shall the (mil of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be 

destroyed " (Dan. ii. 3 1, 35, 11). " But on whomsoever it shall 

fall — whim it shall smite," as in the vision of Daniel — "it will 

grind him to powder. " Whocandoubt the meaning of this mighty 
but mysterious stone, at once the foundation of hope to the faithful, 

and the uplifted weapon oi judgment against the sinner? 



SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 75 

Now as to the prediction in relation to the Jewish nation, it 
has been accomplished to the very letter : they have experienced 
its awful effects for 1800 years. And what information does the 
apostle give in regard to the gentile church; those on whom the 
stone is to fall, and grind to powder ? For it is clear, I think, 
that the apostle applies the falling and breaking off to the Jews 
exclusively. " Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him 
be your fear, and let him be your dread ; and he shall be for a 
sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence to 
both the houses of Israel; for a gin, and for a snare to the in- 
habitants of Jerusalem; and many among them shall stumble 
and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken" (Isa. viii. 
13, 14, 15). 

Is not the time near at hand, when the following text will 
apply? "Wo to the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea; for 
the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he 
knoweth that he hath but a short time" (Rev. xii. 12). Whether 
it will be a thousand literal or prophetic years that he is to be 
bound, we know not. He is to be loosed a little season; long 
enough to collect Gog and Magog from the four quarters of the 
earth, before his last and final retribution, which is, "And the 
devil (hat deceived them was cast into the lake of lire and brim- 
stone, where the beast and the false prophet arc, and shall be 
tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Rev. xx. 10). 
You will observe he is to go where the beast and false prophet 
are. What does that mean? The inference is clear that the beast 
and false prophet have got the start of the devil into the lake of 
lire and brimstone; otherwise they would be coupled together, it 
should seem : but no; it is where the beast and the false prophet 
arc. 

Let us see if we cannot get at [some clue to this mystery ; for 
it will be found, on examination, that a most tremendous and 
appalling event takes place before the devil receives his final 
doom, where he is tormented day and night for ever and ever. 
For the work of the beast and false prophet is not yet fully ac- 
complished, but is rapidly approximating to its crisis by means 
of his frog spirits abroad in the earth at the. present day. Let us 
consider what arc the peculiar characteristics of this host of 
combined isms and schisms, these agents and auxiliaries which 
the beast and false prophet is now using to accomplish his dia- 
bolical purposes, before he shall be cast out, and cast into the 
lake of fire and brimstone, to await the time when the devil, that 



76 THE CRISIS. 

deceived Gog and Magog, is cast into the lake of fire and 
brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, awaiting his 
coming (Rev. xx. 10). 

We will notice some traits of character of these frog spirits, 
and of their works as described in the scriptures, which embody 
the very essence of the last antichrist that should appear in the 
latest times; for although he is one in essence, yet he is many in 
form and action, so that he becomes as an angel of light, in order 
that he may deceive the very elect if it were possible. Psalm x. 
which refers to the last apostacy : " The wicked, through the 
pride of his heart, will not seek after God : God is not in all his 
thoughts (verse 4). His mouth is full of cursing, and deceit and 
fraud : under his tongue is mischief and vanity (7). He hath said 
in his heart, God hath forgotten me; he will never see it (11). 
He hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it (13)." Psalm 
xii. : "They speak vanity every one with his neighbour : with 
flattering lips, and with a double heart, do they speak (verse 2). 
Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are 
our own : who is lord over us! (4). The wicked walk on every 
side, when the vilest men are exalted (8)." 

What an appalling lesson has recently been taught us in this 
professed christian land, where one half of the whole population, 
of both professors and non-professors, combined together with 
their right of suffrage, to place in the highest office of power in 
this nation, an infidel, the highest freemason in the land! For 
if freemasonry is not infidelity and antichristianity, then the Bible, 
the Word of God, will be what they have asserted it to be, a 
cunningly or clumsily devised fable. I have heard from the lips of 
high masons, for forty years past, that there was no more divine 
authenticity in the bible than in a newspaper. I say then that this 
people, both church and state, have combined to exalt to the 
highest office an infidel, a slaveholder, a vile oppressor, a mur- 
derer by trade, which has been followed up for twenty years; 
and the opposite party are no better — worse I believe impossible. 

Psalm xiv. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. 
They are all together become filthy : there is none that doeth 
good; no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no know- 
ledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon 
the Lord? Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor." Psalm liii. 
is of the same tenour, and refers to the last apostacy. Psalm lii. 
begins with rebuking these : "Why boastest thou thyself in 
mischief, O mighty man? Thy tongue deviseth mischief like a 



SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 77 

sharp razor working deceitfully ; thou lovest evil more than 
good, and lying rather than to speak righteousness." Psalm 
lxxv. : "I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly ; and to the 
wicked, Lift, not up your horn on high : speak not with a stiff 
neck. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine 
is red; hut the dreg's thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall 
wring- them out and drink them. All the horns of the wicked, 
also, will I cut off." Psalm xeiv. : "They break in pieces thy 
people, Lord, and atllict thy heritage : they slay the widow 
and the stranger, and murder the fatherless; yet they say the 
Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. They 
gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, 
and condemn the innocent blood. They shall be cut off in their 
wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off." Zech. 
i. 21 : "And then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, 
saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that 
no man did lift up his head; but these are come to fray them, to 
cast out the horns of the gentiles, which lifted up their horn over 
the land of Judah to scatter it." Matth. xxiv. 21 : " For there 
shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of 
the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. For there shall 
ftrise false christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs 
and wonders ; for wheresoever the carcase is, there will the 
eagles be gathered together. Then shall they deliver you up to 
be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all na- 
tions for my name's sake. And then shall many be. offended, and 
shall betray one another, and shall hate one another." 

This is the last apostacy, out of which antichrist will be great- 
ly aided and matured by professors of religion, as appears by 
II. Peter ii. 1, 3, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18. Jude also bears 
testimony to the same : " But, beloved, remember ye the words 
which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus 
Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the 
last times, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. Wo 
unto them ! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran 
greedily after the error of Balaam for reward." Paul speaks of 
the same characters (II. Tim. iii.) : "This know also that in the 
last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of 
their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, dis- 
obedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, truce-breakers, false 
accusers, fierce, traitors, heady, high-minded, having a form of 
godliness. Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse." 



78 THE CRISIS. 

The foregoing is a bare specimen of the character and work- 
ings of these frog spirits for near two thousand years; but the 
great, the last crisis, is believed to be near at hand, of all those 
" who make merchandize of you; whose judgment now of a long 
time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not" (II. Pet. 
ii. 3). For all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and will 
prove a savour of life unto him who is imbued with a humble 
teachable spirit; while, at the same time, it will become a savour 
of death unto death eternal to the others. 

And now you lawyers, doctors, legislators, judges; and all 
you ministers both oldlight and newlight, not excepting those 
great lights who, through the popular current, have got into the 
labour-saving system of the collegiate churches, where one dis- 
course answers for four or six weeks; and all those that have 
been in any degree aiding or abetting in the use of any of the 
machinery of these frog spirits, in the gathering together this 
army of Gog and Magog, or in producing these isms and schisms 
in the body politic or ecclesiastic; you all have a deep interest 
in these things. Ponder well who hath said, I will turn and over- 
turn, turn and overturn; until He whose right it is shall take to 
himself his great power, and exercise supreme dominion over 
the whole earth, under the whole heaven, as King of kings, and 
Lord of lords. 



CHAPTER X, 



SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

Daniel ii. 31 - 45. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar, king- of 
Babylon, as interpreted by the prophet Daniel, has been ex- 
pressively and beautifully characterized by Meade as being' the 
sacred calendar and great almanac of prophecy, by the guidance 
of which all millennial inquiries must be conducted, if we would 
have them conducted successfully; ever bearing in mind that it 
is the prophet's interpretation that we are to be guided by, and 
not our own. It stands thus : 

The monarch's dream, the prophet's interpretation, the image 
viewed as a whole, is emblematic of human power — infidel, 
idolatrous or antichristian — principally affecting the interests of 
the children of Abraham and the disciples of Christ, which should 
have dominion on the earth, from the captivity of Judah, to the 
era of the establishment of divine power under the reign of the 
Son of Man. 

When examined more particularly, we find that this human 
power should consist of a series of four successive monarchies or 
empires, exhibited respectively under the emblems of gold, 
silver, brass, and iron and clay. The prophet himself expressly 
determines for us that the one symbolized by gold was the 
empire of Babylon; for he says to the king, "Thou art this 
head of gold." After this, the process for determining the ap- 
plication of the other symbols is a very simple one : it is merely 
to interrogate history, whether sacred or profane. What power 
overturned and succeeded that of Babylon ? The answer is, the 
Medo-Persian ; that, therefore, was the kingdom or empire of 
silver. Again, What power overturned and succeeded that of 
Medo-Persia? The answer is, the Grecian; that, therefore, was 
the kingdom or empire of brass. Once more, What power over- 
turned and succeeded that of Greece? The answer is, the Roman; 
this, therefore, was the kingdom or empire of iron. 

In the employment of the prophetic emblems for these various 



80 



THE CRISIS. 



empires, there is a strikingly accurate adaptation to their re- 
spective characters. As in the metallic succession, the materials 
decrease in splendour, but increase in strength; so also in the 
empirial succession, the kingdoms decrease in pomp, but increase 
in power. 

There is something" here, which might make all infidels, as 
well as Nebuchadnezzar, to be troubled on account of this image, 
in spite of all their affected sneering at our faith. They have 
grown ashamed of the falsehood that the book of Daniel is a 
recent composition of Roman times; and the defence of their 
unbelief now is, that he was an exceedingly sagacious politician, 
so as to make a most successful guess at what would be the 
revolutions of empires in all future ages. What an exquisite thing 
infidel philosophy is! Well, be it so. He whose sagacity foretold 
the empires of silver, brass and iron, has also predicted the empire 
of the stone, by which all infidelity, both of princes and subjects, 
shall be visited with the destroying judgments of an avenging 
God. 

As the fourth or roman power descends in the course of time, 
its iron, according to the prophecy, should be mingled with clay, 
and become a divided empire as symbolized by the toes of the 
image. All this, expositors agree, was verified in the irruption of 
the Gothic and other barbarous tribes from the north, their set- 
tlement in the midst of the Romans, and the partition of the 
empire into the various principalities of modern Europe. And 
herein we are called to mark with admiration the superiority of 
the Bible in its politics, as in every thing else, to the speculations 
of uninspired men. Infidel historians speak of the Roman empire 
as having fallen under those irruptions of the northern tribes ; 
whereas scripture prophecy represents it as having only under- 
gone a modification. At all events, whatever may be the view 
taken by others, this must be the view of the scriptural politician. 

Here, at least, is something in which we are all directly in- 
terested. The prophecy is now bearing on ourselves, as being 
directly or indirectly in company with all the professed christian 
kingdoms or empires through the world, as part and parcel of the 
fourth empire of iron and clay. 

"And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they 
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not 
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And 
in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a 
kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall 



SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 81 

not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and con- 
sume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Dan. ii. 
43, 44). 

Now there is something- worthy of serious consideration in this 
mingling with the seed of men; and I think the prophet gives us 
its beginning, as also its termination, in the above passages. For 
when Pagan Rome was converted or transformed into Christian 
Home, and became the fourth empire, or that of iron and clay : 
even as under Rome pagan, the christian religion was hated 
and despised, and the christians persecuted unto the death; so 
under Christian Rome, Christianity become popular and honour- 
able, insomuch that the princes and nobles were advanced to 
offices in the church. And here doubtless commenced the mingling 
with the seed of men; and it has continued to mingle, until the 
whole mass of iron and clay has become leavened with antichrist 
and antichristianity, together with the beast and the false prophet; 
but being iron and clay, they will not cleave one to another, 
even as iron is not mixed with clay. No! there is no principle 
of adhesion in them. Look at the strifes and conflicts, the isms 
and schisms throughout the world ! " For in the days of these 
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom " : his own 
kingdom; and most fearful will be the destruction of this dynasty 
of Roman Europe, and all its appendages in principles and 
practice throughout the habitable world, when this slone, cut out 
without hands, becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole 
earth ! 

What is the state and condition of the christian church, or 
even the protestant part of it, throughout this world? Where is 
the society amongst them all, which God appears collectively 
and positively to own and to bless? In which of these vineyards 
do we see the fruits of God's own husbandry? Where is the 
celestial crop? Where do we see rising the vigorous plants which 
shall convert this wilderness into the garden of the Lord? There 
is, I grant, much piety in many of her members; but, con- 
template her as a body, as a protestant church. Is God at this 
moment deepening her foundations? Is he enlarging the place 
of her tent ; stretching forth the curtains of her habitation ; 
lengthening her cords and strengthening her stakes? Alas! these 
cheering expressions do not apply to her now. She is far more 
suitably described in the mournful language of the Psalmist : 
"Why hast thou broken down her hedges, that all they that go 
by pluck off her grapes? The wild boar out of the wood doth 
6 



82 



THE CRISIS. 



root it up, and the beast of the field devours it." Suffice it to say, 
that not the slightest indication can be found in the whole or any 
part of the great protestant commonwealth, that God is organizing 
or maturing any materials there, which could fill the vacant 
space of antichristianity, worldly pride and despotism, which now 
predominate throughout the whole civilized world, both in prin- 
ciple and practice. The following passages give a few tastes of 
the character and spirit of the last times. Psalm x. which refers 
to the last apostacy : " The wicked, through the pride of his 
heart, will not seek after God : God is not in all his thoughts 
(verse 4). His mouth is full of cursing, and deceit and fraud : 
under his tongue is mischief and vanity (7). He hath said in his 
heart, God hath forgotten; he will never see it (11). He hath 
said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it (13)." Psalm xii. 
"They speak vanity every one with his neighbour; with flattering 
lips, and with a double heart, do they speak (verse 2). Who 
have said, With our tongues will we prevail : our lips are our 
own; who is lord over us? (4). The wicked walk on every side, 
when the vilest men are exalted (8)." 

An invisible church there doubtless is, all whose members are 
known to God, and who are all his spiritual worshippers; but the 
existence of this church, and the lives of all its members, are hid 
with Christ in God, and have no local habitation nor name on 
earth. And why is this? Because the Head of this society is him- 
self invisible ; and it is only when He appears, that they also will 
appear with Him in glory. There is, therefore, under the present 
dispensation, no rightful claimant upon earth of those marks and 
characters which would belong to the true church if visible ; 
and in the absence of a rightful claimant, many pretenders and 
usurpers arrogate those honours to themselves. There is a time 
coming, however, when — the jews, I apprehend, are referred to 
— "they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when 
I make up my jewels ; and I will spare them as a man spareth 
his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern 
between the righteous and the wicked ; between him that serveth 
God, and him that serveth him not" (Mai. iii. 17, 18; Luke i. 
17). 

Since Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece were overturned, has 
this modern Babylon any plea to advance for exemption from 
the common fate of empires? Can any of the civilized kingdoms 
show good cause before the judgment seat of God, in the conduct 
either of her rulers or people, of their government having been 



SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 83 

so righteously exercised that it should, any more than that of 
Babylon the night it was sacked by Cyrus, be continued to her 
another hour ? Well, say some, it does not appear impossible, 
that before the end of time, Rome and all its appendages shall 
perish too. And is this the amount of your judgment? Is this all 
the warmth of your patriotism for the church of Christ? Is this 
the expression of the ardour of your hope for the happiness of 
the world? How much you have yet to learn of the character of 
God, as a God of holiness ! He has declared, so as to leave no 
room for uncertainty in the mind of any believer, that as Baby- 
Ion, as Persia, and as Greece fell, so shall this modern mystical 
Babylon, this antitypal monster, this image whose form was ter- 
rible in its fourth and last empire of iron and clay, with all its 
component parts and appendages throughout Europe and North 
America, shall fall also, and fall far from heaven; and that an- 
other empire or dominion over the world shall take her place, 
long before the time when many persons imagine the earth shall 
be blotted out from existence. This is not left to the determination 
of probability : the dream is certain, and the interpretation 
thereof sure. Matthew xxi. 42, 44 : " Jesus saith unto them, 
Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders 
rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? And who- 
soever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever 
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." "When it shall 
smite," as in the vision of Daniel ii. 31 — 35 : " Thou, king, 
sawest, and behold a great image stood before thee, anrl the form 
thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his 
breasts and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 
his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou 
sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote 
the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake 
them to pieces- Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver 
and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the 
chaff of the summer threshing-floors, and the wind carried them 
away that no place was found for them ; and the stone that smote 
the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." 
What a comment this from the lips of Christ, on the vision of 
Daniel! "But on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to 
powder." This clause is not found in any of the parallel passages, 
except that Luke quotes the same words of our Saviour. For the 
chief priests and scribes perceived that he had spoken this pa- 
rable against them; that is, they were conscious of guilt. Now I 



84 



THE CRISIS. 



have no objection to its being applied personally to chief priests 
and scribes, in the Jewish as well as in the gentile church; for we 
have abundance of them at the present day. This will not prove 
that it does apply to the Jewish church and nation; neither will 
it disprove its application to the gentile church and nations. For 
this stone smites the image of iron and clay, the brass, the silver 
and the gold, till they are broken to pieces together, and become 
like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors, and the wind carried 
them away that no place was found for them; for the stone that 
smote them became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 
Now this smiting, breaking, and carrying away or disappearing 
is coextensive with all the dynasties or kingdoms of the world, 
at least the civilized world; for if the stone is to fill the whole 
earth, then, of course, it takes the place of these kingdoms. So 
says the prophet : "And in the days of these kings shall the 
God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; 
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall 
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall 
stand for ever." Now this kingdom is the subject of promise, 
and has been ever since our Saviour's first advent; and would 
our Divine Master have put the prayer of hope within our lips, 
if it were not thus connected with his own glory and our welfare? 
Would he have taught us incessantly to pray, " Thy kingdom 
come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven/' if it was not his 
intention to interest our minds in the expectation of that kingdom ? 
Now a kingdom presupposes a king, with regal authority to 
reign and rule personally and visibly over his kingdom. 

In the parable of the tares, it is said, " The Son of man shall 
send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom 
all things that offend . Then shall the righteous shine forth as the 
sun in the kingdom of the Father, and of the Son of man.'* 
" Jesus said, Verily, I say unto you, there be some standing 
here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man 
coming in his kingdom" (Matth.). Luke has it, "till they see 
the kingdom of God come with power." The transfiguration of 
Christ on the mount was a type or earnest of his second coming 
in glory, his exaltation to power and dominion until all his ene- 
mies shall be made his footstool. In this kingdom, Jesus will act 
the part of Joseph in Egypt, who was a type of him. For as 
Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over all the land of Egypt, only in 
the throne being greater than him; so has God put all things 
under Christ's feet : he only is excepted which did put all things 



SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 85 

under him. And as Joseph brought every thing in the land into 
subjection to Pharaoh, and surrendered them up to him; "so 
when all things shall be subdued to Christ, then shall the Son 
also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, 
that God may be all in all" (I. Cor. xv. 24, 28). 

Now it is obvious that there must be a much stronger con- 
viction of the presiding government of the Most High, than is 
common in the professedly religious community. The great 
multitude so think of him, as if he concerned himself but little, 
if at all, about the methods of government and trade, or the tone 
of manners, but left all these things to statesmen and merchants, 
and men of fashion, to dispose of them as they please; observing 
men only in their individual capacities, and having no purpose 
to reckon with them till what they call the end of time, when the 
world shall have in a manner died of itself through old age; 
without coming down in the midst of its career, to confound its 
institutions of crime, and sweep their apostate and rebellious 
upholders away in his wrath, and make all the administration of 
the earth his own. Among such circumscribersof the sovereignty 
of God, there is no hope : there is not in them a reverence for 
Jehovah's godhead, to which we can appeal in his word; and 
they must be delivered over to learn the truth in that great day, 
when the bursting forth of the gathered storm of his vengeance 
shall teach it them experimentally. But men who do verily be- 
lieve that the Creator is interested in the world, as his own world; 
interested in the whole of its management, that he may have out 
of it his lawful revenue of glory : who believe that because of 
sin he once deluged it above the mountains, and who treat it as 
no fabulous tradition, but as sound and authentic history; and 
that he rained down a torrent of sulphurous fire on Sodom and 
Gomorrah : with those inquirers who devoutly believe that the 
Eternal is nationally an avenger of national wickedness, ever 
rebuking it in his anger as it gathers strength — we shall not 
despair of proselytes. 

So far as the approach of desolating judgments forms a part of 
our system, we will refer them to abominations, to blasphemy, 
oppression and licentiousness; as impious, cruel, impure and 
abounding, perpetrated and poured forth in a torrent by all the 
civilized nations of the earth, as ever have been either those of 
the antediluvians, or of the inhabitants of the cities of the plain, 
and deeply aggravated too through defiance of the light of the 
gospel. 



86 



THE CRISIS. 



"Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou 
shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be : but the 
meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the 
abundance of peace" (Ps. xxxvi. 10, 11). " But the wicked 
shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of 
lambs : they shall consume ; into smoke shall they consume 
away. Behold! He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see 
him, and they also which pierced him, and all the kindreds of 
the earth shall wail because of liim" (Rev. i. 7). 

If the reign of Christ be not first within our renewed souls, 
we shall never share it in a renewed world. If He legislate not 
over our passions and our affections, we shall never bear rule in 
the regions of his rescued earth. If God the Holy Ghost re- 
generate not our hearts, he will never regenerate our bodies. 
Our conformity to Christ must be entire : we must be crucified, 
ere we can be glorified : his sceptre must be in our hearts, ere 
his crown can rest on our heads. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 

There is a conviction entertained by some pious men, that the 
study of unfulfilled prophecy is likely to produce a love for 
speculation, rather than a disposition to meet with alacrity the 
important duties of life. I really admit the existence of the 
snare ; but I find an equivalent snare in every pursuit and 
condition of human life. As readily also do I admit the inference 
implied, that practical utilitTj is the true test by which we 
are to judge of the value of any pursuit, or of any truth which 
may be presented to our understanding's. 

The whole system of Christianity is plainly a system connected 
with moral discipline, self-denial, active service, charity, sub- 
jection to the law and conformity to the mind of God. We never 
perceive a single doctrine to stand by itself, apart from the 
practical sympathies and relations of life; but ever occupying 
an influential place in the framework of the social system, and 
connected with all the strict and incessant obligations of duty. 
We find doctrine to be the life of duty; its motive, its strength, 
its promise, its reward. We find doctrine to be another word for 
events and facts of the gospel : we find doctrine to arise out 
of those past events, and to lead to the production of similar 
events in future. If, for instance, we read of the death of Christ, 
and of the atonement which results from it, we find the object 
to which that death directly leads, to be our death unto sin. 
If we read of the resurrection of Christ, and of the doctrine of 
eternal life which results from it, we find the object to which 
that event directly tends is our resurrection from the grave of 
sin. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which 
are above where Christ sittetli at the right hand of God." 

If, therefore, I should discover the prospects of the coming 
reign of Christ upon the earth to have no practical tendency, to 
have no salutary bearing upon the practical sympathies and duties 
of life, I should deem the mode in which I had taken up the 



Ob THE CRISIS. 

subject to be equivocal if not erroneous. It would be at variance 
with the symmetry and proportion of the gospel : it would mark 
out, to my mind, an important mistake in the value which I had 
attached to the subject. 

I cannot, however, admit in any degree the necessary con- 
nection between the expectations of prophecy, and the barren 
speculations of a mere curious imagination. It appears to me that 
this connection might as easily be alleged with any one spiritual 
truth of the gospel. This allegation is actually made by the world 
at large, to the urgent inculcation of the healing doctrine of jus- 
tification by Christ through faith. The reply is quick from the 
worldly : You make useless the inculcation of relative duties; 
you endanger the fabric of morality; you turn away the minds 
of the young, the industrious, the occupied, from the strict fulfil- 
ment of the work assigned to them in this world, to the dangerous 
speculation of a mysterious benefit to be derived from the works 
of Jesus Christ in another world. This allegation is harmless in 
the judgment of a christian, because he knows it to be erroneous. 
Any instances in proof of its validity which might be adduced, 
would be inconclusive to him, however painful, because he would 
recollect the best things to be capable of the worst abuse. In the 
face of any such abuse, he would fearlessly aver the doctrine of 
justification by Christ to be the fruitful source of human virtue 
and human happiness ; to be the great instrument, in the hands 
of the Eternal Spirit, for the destruction of moral evil to the 
heart; to have a close and direct connection with all the loftier 
and more generous emotions of which the heart is capable. 

In a similar manner, in the face of any instances which should 
be adduced of the occupancy of the mind by the disproportion- 
ate hopes of the future, rather than by the painful self-denials 
of the present, I would, with as little hesitation, avow the subject 
to which our inquiries have been directed, to stand connected 
with the most important and influential principle which can sway 
the conduct of a moral agent. 

But, after all, is not this a question referable rather to the 
mode, than to the subjects of prophetical inquiry? I would ask 
whether unfulfilled prophecy be not, in its varied details, the 
great theme of hope and consolation to the whole christian 
church? Whether a single motive to exertion, a single reference 
to responsibility, a single solace to misfortune, a single excite- 
ment to infirmity can be brought to bear upon the understanding 
and the will, but through the medium of unfulfilled prophecy? 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 89 

Is the present condition of the church any other condition than 
one of dependence upon the unfulfilled promises of God ? The 
shadow of the Spirit ; the presence of Christ to the end of the 
world; the hopes of heaven; the fears of hell; the expectations 
of judgment to come; the rewards of mercy and retributions of 
justice; the supports of a deathbed, and the prospects of eternity : 
what are all these influential subjects of religion, but subjects 
derived from a belief in the prophetic records of revelation ? 
If, then, the whole stress of practical religion already be found 
to rest upon scriptural predictions yet unfulfilled to the church, 
why should the contemplation of the mode in which some of these 
assurances are to be accomplished become a subject of suspicion 
and alarm? Why is one part of scripture dangerous, and another 
safe? "Why is one pathway marked out by God to be approved 
by the church, and another pathway, perhaps as plainly marked 
out, to be condemned as questionable and crooked? 

I am surprised that this suspicion should take the form which 
it has taken. I ground this surprise upon the fact, that all the 
hopes of those who entertain this suspicion, and all the opinions 
which they have formed of the future, are derived from the very 
study of prophecy which they condemn. In the ritual of christian 
education, in the ministrations of the sanctuary, in the chambers 
of sorrow, and by the beds of disease and death, good men gladly 
take their stand amidst the expectations of the future, and repeat, 
with all the energy and sympathy of their hearts, the prophetic- 
voice of the gospel to those whose welfare and consolation they 
are eager to promote. They are anxious to withdraw the thoughts 
of the sufferer from the present, in order to fix them upon the 
future; to strengthen his faith, by a recurrence to the unshaken 
testimony of God; to tell him of a love, which, if it be from 
everlasting, is also to everlasting; to bring before the eye of his 
faith a hand that can wipe away the tear which anguish bids to 
flow; a home where sorrow intrudes not to disturb the scene; a 
world where sin brings no separation of those who are dear. Or 
if it be needful to alarm the careless and to awe the profligate, 
do not the same men of God refer to the prophetic announcements 
of revelation, and, if possible, give a present existence before 
the mind of the sinner, to those tremendous penalties by which 
the law of God is guarded and sustained? 

The difference of opinion, then, between those who are now 
more especially interested in the study of prophecy, and those 
who are suspicious of it, is, after all, a difference as to inter- 
6* 



90 



THE CRISIS. 



pretatio?i> and not as to 'prophecy itself. Those who fear the 
influence of this study upon the minds of others, do not, in fact, 
fear the prophecy, but the novelty of its interpretation, and 
wish it to remain undisturbed. But is it candid to decry a 
pursuit under a false name? Would it not be fair to say, We 
have examined the future, and we are satisfied our predecessors 
have adopted the rig-lit interpretation, and we think it dangerous 
to question its justness. (No earlier writer than Dr. Whitby con- 
tains a statement of the popular doctrine of a merely spiritual 
millennium, and he speaks of it as a new hypothesis : if the 
reader doubts this, let him name an earlier source.) We object 
not to the announcements of prophecy; we are habituated to 
foretel the conversion of the world, the restoration of Israel, the 
destruction of idolatry, the return of Christ to judgment, the 
resurrection of the dead, the ascent of the righteous to glory, the 
assignment of the wicked to the destruction which no warning 
voice could induce them to escape ; these things we are ac- 
customed to foretel, and upon these prophetic announcements we 
rest the whole strength of our appeal to the conscience, and the 
weight of our arguments for the comfort and tranquility of the 
heart. Well, allow us still to put forth the statements we have 
made, and do not call in question their propriety or agreement 
with the mind and will of God. 

This appears to me to be a fair statement of the case, and to 
bring the subject in its real bearing clearly before our view. No 
objection is made to prophetic subjects, if they accord with the 
received interpretation. If we foretel the events of the future as 
they are depicted by the current theology of the day, no suspicion 
is generated : but if we venture to question the correctness of 
that interpretation; if we say, It is possible our Divine Lord 
should appear again in person — should appear before the time 
of the diffusion of his religion through the world, in order so to 
diffuse it : or if we say that he will dwell at Jerusalem, as a 
priest upon his throne, after the order of Melchisedek ; or that 
the first resurrection is a literal and not a spiritual resurrection : 
these our statements are immediately suspected to be injurious, 
and the study of prophecy is declared to be ensnaring and de- 
lusive. Is this equal ; is it fair ? Does not the weight of the 
objection lie in the unwillingness to examine questions supposed 
to be settled; in the reluctance to confess the possibility of error; 
in the indolence which shrinks from the examination of pre- 
conceived opinions, and in the difficulty of occupying ground 
which hitherto we have imperfectly surveyed ? 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 91 

It may perhaps be said, that to this general view of the future, 
less objection is made. The great objection lies against an at- 
tempt to reduce the mysterious times and seasons; to limit pro- 
phetic events to particular persons and things; and thus to en- 
danger the credibility of prediction, in the minds of many, by 
the failure of our own prophetic announcements. 

I admit this to be the vulnerable side of those who have, of 
late years, directed their attention to the study of unfulfilled 
prophecy; and I would, with humility and earnestness, suggest 
to those who feel a warm and deep interest in coming events, to 
guard well against this use of the subject, and to fix their thoughts 
rather on the character of the future, than upon its minute de- 
tails : the latter, time and events can alone properly ascertain; 
the former, the whole language and hope of prophecy unfolds 
and confirms. 

Should it be asked, in what respect we deem the novel views, 
as they are somewhat unjustly called, to have the advantage in 
practical influence over those which we seem anxious to displace? 
I would offer to the christian reader a few observations in reply 
to his question. 

It will be obvious to observers, that both lines of interpretation 
coincide as to the boundaries which mark out the paramount 
interests of mankind. Both direct our views to the wide diffusion 
of Christianity through the earth; to the ultimate coming of Christ 
to the world; to the resurrection of the dead; to the endless 
felicity of the redeemed in the presence of their Lord, and to the 
awful banishment of the impenitent into the outer darkness of sin 
and wo : and these topics are the great sources of motives to 
exertion; the deep fountains of human hope and peace. The 
interpretations adopted in the preceding pages are but different 
forms of these primary and paramount truths : hence it cannot 
be expected that any very striking moral results should be the 
fruit of their reception by those who adopt them, as contra- 
distinguished from any parallel results derived from the common 
and received interpretations of the future. Salvation by Christ ; 
eternal life or eternal wo : these are the ideas around which the 
varied sympathies of man are wont to gather, and which give 
vigour and effect to all his efforts and expectations. 

It may be, nevertheless, true that certain modifications of these 
great and essential doctrines of prophecy should give a coherence 
and symmetry to the proportions of Christianity; should arrange 
much that may have been confused in the mind; should throw a 



93 



THE CRISIS. 



steadier light upon that which is obscure; should render distinct 
that which is perplexed] and give a vividness and simplicity to 

expectations which were in genera] dim and intricate; should 
bring out into beauty and harmony certain points which were 
discerned rather in their general dimensions, than in their due 
proportions; should give a fresh stimulus to duty, by making its 
recompense more apparent; should render the themes of re- 
demption and of incarnate love more attractive and intelligible, 
by bringing forward their results into more direct contact with 
existing scenery, and with more familiar associations. In all 

these advantages, there LS certainly nothing SO new, SO impressive, 

so distinctive, so influential as to hear, with an overwhelming 
increase of power, upon the great interests of mankind : and 
yet there may be, in these advantages, much to cheer, refresh, 
invigorate, and delight the pious and expecting heart; there may 

be in them much to render the intimations of the future more 

attractive and conceivable ; much to throw around the more vast 

and transcendent troths oi revelation, the hues of a brighter love- 
liness, and the proportions of a clearer vision. 

It is in this way the subject has acted upon my own mind, 
and it is with this reference that 1 have felt anxious to draw the 
attention of my fellow-chrisUans to its consideration. To a few of 

these minor, but still practical results. I would here brielly refer. 
1. 1 think these views of the events connected with the advent 
of Christ to be well calculated, in the mind of the christian, to 
reduce the value of all his sublunary enjoyments; to wean the 
heart and atYections from the world, and things of the world. To 
compare a purified earth with the present polluted scene, is to 
form a readier contrast than to compare the present scene with 
a world of whose usages and character we are wholly ignorant. 

To anticipate an innocent and holy earth, cheered by the presence 

o\ Christ, and animate with converted anil happy beings, is to 
give to the mind an easier, and, 1 think, a more practical subject 
of contemplation, than any which is discoverable in the misty 
notions of a region of felicity apart and separate from all the 
habits of the present world. They i\o, indeed, open before us the 
deep sources oi' hope and fear; but. I am satisfied, that in pro- 
portion as our ideas oi' the future felicity become clear and lucid, 
w e are more powerfully attracted and more pleasingly influenced 
by them. 

Although the fear of death and eternity will reduce the value 
of worldly objects and advantages, yet I think the same results 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 93 

will more cheerfully and efficiently be produced by the readier 
•contrast between a present and a iuture dispensation of the exist- 
ing earth. All that is now in the world, the lust of the flesh, the 
lust of the eyes and the pride of life, will be more readily grap- 
pled with and subdued by the contemplation of an approaching 
condition, still connected indeed with the local scenery of earth, 
but glorified in its character and qualities, than by the anticipa- 
tion of a world which admits of no comparison with any objects 
hitherto familiar to the eye or ear. The renovation of the world, 
the intercourse with Christ as the Second Adam, the creative 
beauties of a system with which we are already conversant and 
delighted, appear to me to bring us within the reach of a direct 
and easy estimate of the insignificance of the existing advantages 
of rank. Wealth, power, influence, ease, and all sensual pleasure, 
the approach of death will render valueless to the christian; but 
surely the present substitution for them, in mind, of a material 
or terrestrial happiness in the presence of the Redeemer, will 
cast them more easily info the shade; and this rather by the 
attractive force of contrast, than by the stern compulsion of de- 
molition and decay. 

2. In a similar manner, I think these views of the advent of 
Christ calculated to reconcile the poorer christian to the struggles 
of the present life. If the dim thought of heaven can comfort him 
in this struggle, yet I think a simpler and more intelligible solace 
might reach his heart, if, when toiling in the cold shade of po- 
verty, or groaning on the bed of sickness, he could connect the 
voice, the eye, to his Saviour, with a body free from sin and pain, 
and in the sunshine of a world with whose scenery all his thoughts 
and habits are familiar. Such a solace would still be to him his 
heaven, but a heaven more palpably reduced to the level of his 
comprehension and his hopes. 

3. I should anticipate from the prevalence of these views of 
the coming of our Blessed Lord, a far stronger feeling of chris- 
tian charity amidst the diversities of human opinions. We expect 
reunion of opinion in heaven : we expect there to be as one 
family, and to share one undivided felicity ; but how powerless 
has been this anticipation hitherto, to smooth the ruggedness of 
religious controversy ! Heaven is a place distant, untried, un- 
known ! How near may be the time when this renovated earth 
shall be under the rule of the risen saints of God ! When He shall 
appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory. 



94 THE CRISIS. 



Christians ! you are now builders in a city which will expand 
into eternal beauty ami strength; but, remember, the scaffolding 
on which you stand is temporary, but the communion of saints 
is eternal. The speedy advent of Christ may give force and reality 
to this recollection : "When your Master comes, let him find 
you in harmony, in faith, in love" (Matth. xxiv. 44 - 51). 



CHAPTER XII. 



SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

The Kingdom of Christ. 

My decided opinion is, that the language of scripture suggests 
the expectation of a kingdom to be established upon the earth, 
under the personal and glorious sceptre of Jesus Christ. The 
great mystery revealed to man, is God manifest in the flesh, and, 
as such, vested with the high commission to destroy the works 
of the devil. These works have been manifested in the seduction 
of our first parents from their allegiance to God, and the usurpa- 
tion of that dominion with which Adam had been invested; and 
in the overthrow of order, justice and charity in the world. 
Except, then, revelation should assert the contrary, would it not 
be natural to suppose, that to destroy these works, cannot imply 
less than to retrieve the apparent ruin; to restore the allegiance 
of the earth to its Creator; to remove the curse under which it 
labours ; to abolish death, introduced by sin ; to replace the 
crown upon the head from which it has fallen, and thus to realize 
the original purpose of God in the creation of Adam ? 

However, the more limited views and interpretation of the 
church, at present, are, that holy principles shall one day very 
generally prevail in the world; but this still under the penalty 
of death, and beneath the original curse. The more limited as- 
surance, that after this spiritual triumph of Christ over a depraved 
race, a final judgment shall be instituted, and, under his righ- 
teous sentence, the wicked be separated from the just, the earth 
annihilated by fire, and the righteous translated to another region, 
there to enjoy in his presence an eternal blessedness ; this as- 
surance, cheering and glorious as it may appear, would not at 
least seem to fulfil the prediction that Christ should destroy the 
works of the devil : his work of rebellion and of malice would 
still be visible in the victory he had gained over a once happy 
world. 



96 



THE CRISIS. 



The simple fact of the earth annihilated, and of a chosen race 
rescued indeed from ruin, but transferred t<> another scene for 
the enjoyment <>i their happiness; this very fact would appear 
to be at variance with the original record of the creation : " Let 

us make man alter our image, that he may have dominion over 

the earth) and subdue it," The original scheme would appear, in 
b great measure, to be frustrated; the holy sovereignty given to 

Adam upon the earth, would he swept away; and the malice of 

Satan would, in part, have realized its impious aim. Hut it' in 
the person of the Saviour, Christ the Cod incarnate — the Cod 

manifest in (he flesh? it' in his glorious person the guilt Of man 

at Length he removed, the curse be taken from the earth, death 
l>e abolished, allegiance be restored j paradise he renewed in all 
its innocence and fruitfulness and joj ; and it the perpetuity of 
all these blessings be secured under the agency <>t the Holy 
Ghost, and through tin 1 eternal union of the believer with the 

glorified humanity of JesUS Christ; then, indeed, will the works 

of the devil, gigantic and mature in evil as they have appeared, 
at length he destroyed, and the Saviour amply justify his pro- 
phetic name, "the Second Adam," the Lord from hcayen; then 

will his conquesl he complete, and this world will exhibit the 
very excellence and the very happiness which was implied in 
the approbation of Jehovah, when, in the survey of his finished 
work, he declared it to he very good. The human nature of Christ 

will thus he united to his di\ ine nature ; alike in the manifestation 

of his kingly, as in his prophetic and priestly offices, As man, 

he came t<> fbretel his own COnquestSj as man, he came to taste 
of death, in order to atom* lor sin; and, as man, he will come 

again, to feign, and to enjoy, with his redeemed on earth, the 

effectual triumph of his LCraco. 

Anxious t<> place before the christian reader the impressions 
which 1 have received from the sacred spriptures, of this blessed 
victory and fully established kingdom of Christ ; before pro- 
ceeding io the examination of the language of scripture upon 
these subjects, I will preiW a brief outline illustrative <>f the 
\ tews l entertain o( the nature and circumstances of this kingdom. 

1 oiler no opinion as to a gel lime of the series of events in re- 
lation to each other : I call them Contemporaneous, although 
one may precede or follow the other. 

This kingdom, then, will he contemporaneous with what is 
commonly called 'the Hay o\ Judgment, 1 or 'the Day of the 

Lord.' Al the dawn of this day, or rather period of time, " the 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 97 

first resurrection," or the resurrection of the dead in Christ, will 
take place. These will awake, fashioned after the glorious body 
of Christ; while the saints at that time living 00 earth will un- 
dergo a momentous change) a change effected not through the 
ordinary medium of death, bn< of some rapid and spiritual pro- 
cess, which will at once assimilate them to the glorified dead 
then restored to Immortal life. And these saints, the dead thus 
revived, and the living thus changed, and both glorified after the 
pattern of Christ; these saints will ascend to meet the Lord, as 
he approaches towards the earth in the mingled glories of his 

Father and of the holy angels. The saints, thus revived and 

Changed, will form the elect church, and be presented as the 

glorious bride to Christ; being now made perfect, without spot 
or wrinkle, or any such thing. Then (the joyful hour will be 
arrived, when the marriage supper of the Lamb shall be rele- 
brated, because the bride hath made herself ready. Then will the 
happy and redeemed church, thus muted to the Lord, prepare to 

reign with him On the earth, and to share his millennial glory. 
On his approach, the dreadful overthrow of impious and ungodly 

men will take place, at least throughout the range of thai apo- 
state Christendom which shall so awfully have abused its noble 
privileges and Blighted its gracious warnings. At this time, the 

Jewish nation, the national bride of Jehovah, will be miraculous 
ly restored to their own land ; and this long repudiated people 
will again be espoused Of God, and submit to the sway of the 
glorified Messiah their prince. Satan will then be bound, and his 

influence over the earth be cast out during the millennial period; 

while the latter rains of the Eternal Spirit, now no longer limited 
as on the. day of IVntecost, but falling in gentle showers over 

the whole earth, the time of the world's conversion will be ar- 
rived, and the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the 
waters cover the sea. 

Over the world thus reduced to obedience, though not yet 
rescued entirely from death (the last enemy to be destroyed ), 

the Saviour and his glorified saints will reign in glory. The 
subjects of this kingdom will be composed of the restored jews, 
the converted heathen, and the remnant converted and s.wvd 

from among the ungodly hosts who will have perished during 
the convulsions of the last plagues of the great judgment. 

During this peaceful dominion of the Messiah, the earth will 
exhibit a new spectacle of justice, allegiance and felicity; the 

curse will be greatly mitigated, and the malignant excitements 

7 



98 THE CRISIS. 

of Satan be unfelt. But towards the conclusion of this great day 
of God, impiety will once more prevail, and Satan be again 
permitted to deceive the nations; but a miraculous victory will 
subvert his power. The last judgment will take place. Satan and 
his rebellious associates will be cast into the lake of fire; death 
be destroyed. The curse, already taken from the elect church at 
the first resurrection, will now be removed entirely from the 
earth; and, every foe being put down, the distinction between 
jew and gentile will cease. The mediatorial sceptre being no 
longer needed, the mediatorial kingdom of the Messiah will be 
delivered up to the Father. God will be all in all, and the earth 
at length be transformed into a tranquil scene of happiness, an 
ever-during monument of praise to Him who shall have achieved 
its rescue from the terrific doom of death. 

The exact points on which I propose briefly and humbly to 
appeal to scripture, are the following : 

1. That Jesus Christ will return to this earth, to establish a visible 

and personal kingdom. 

2. That his chosen saints of the first resurrection will reign with 

him in that kingdom. 

3. That the Jewish nation at this time will be restored to their 

own land, and regain their high distinction among the na- 
tions under the kingly authority of Messiah their prince. 

4. That Satan will then be restrained from the exercise of his 

malignant influence on the earth; and the world will ex- 
hibit, during the millennial period, a scene of truth, justice 
and charity, under the hallowed sway of the Messiah and 
his glorified saints. 

5. And thus heavenly happiness is in fact the happiness of hea- 

venly principles, to be enjoyed in the presence of Christ, 
whether upon the renewed paradise of earth, or in any other 
paradise of the universe of love. 
In entering upon the scriptural examination of these proposi- 
tions, it is my anxious wish to state them, not with the dogmatism 
of infallibility, but in the humility of faith. They appear to me 
to rest upon the plain, unequivocal, grammatical language of 
scripture; and to that test I desire to submit them. If, in the 
judgment of the candid, the interpretation adopted in the fol- 
lowing pages will not endure that test, I should be little disposed 
to ask its acceptance as any guide to the religious belief of others. 
I would bow with deep and grateful reverence to the decisions 
of the Word of God; but I desire, unshackled by mere human 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 



99 



opinion, to inquire into the actual unembarrassed import of that 
word. 

Under the influence of these feelings, let me now refer to the 
language of scripture, in proof of the first proposition, that Jesus 
Christ will return to establish a personal and visible kingdom 
upon the earth. 

In reference to the predicted return of our Lord to the world, 
there is, I believe, among christians, no difference of opinion : 
all believe him to be the constituted judge of the quick and the 
dead. NoV do I believe there is any difference of opinion as to 
the expectation that his religion will one day be the prevalent 
faith of the whole earth; or, that during the intermediate period, 
he exercises an unseen and kingly authority over the church and 
the world. On these points, 1 imagine, all pious men agree. The 
difference of opinion lies, first, in the time of his advent; and, 
secondly, in the nature of his ultimate kingdom. In reference to 
the nature of his kingdom, the modern opinion asserts that it is 
to be exclusively spiritual, the reign of holy principles : the 
following pages affirm it to be personal as well as spiritual; to 
be visible, as well as holy. In reference to the time of his advent, 
the modern opinion places it at the end of the world, in order to 
hold a final judgment : the following pages affirm it to take 
place at the commencement of his reign on the earth, in order 
to introduce the millennial period. 

It might be expected that the language of scripture, delineating 
a prospective view of the dispensations of God, however plain 
and simple in itself, would bear a shade of obscurity as to its 
actual import, on account of the various subjects which it con- 
descends to explain. It unfolds subjects external and temporal, 
as well as subjects spiritual and eternal. The difficulty, the am- 
biguity, will lie less, perhaps, in the words, than in the subjects 
which these words explain. I do not here refer to prophetical 
emblems, but to prophecies, simple and direct in terms, in which 
they are announced. At the time of the first advent of our Lord, 
this ambiguity was very apparent. The scriptures foretold a 
kingly Messiah, and they foretold likewise a suffering Saviour. 
The pride of the Jewish nation separated these two subjects of 
prophecy; and hence the whole ground of the controversy be- 
tween Christ and the pharisees rested upon his actual claims to 
be the predicted king of Israel. 

A similar ambiguity, in our own day, arises from the twofold 
character of prophecy. The scriptures announce a spiritual do- 



100 THE CRISIS. 

minion in the human heart; but they also announce, as it appears 
to me, a local and glorious kingdom upon earth. The first subject 
of promise, I think, has been made the occasion of excluding the 
last from the view or general observation of the christian church- 
In the double meaning of which the words of prophecy are 
capable, lies this ambiguity. 

In this ambiguity lies also the occasion for candour, humility, 
prayer, and mutual charity. Our duty is to examine, not to dog- 
matize; to compare scripture with scripture, and to supplicate 
the guidance of a heavenly light in all our researches after divine 
truth. While representing, then, to the christian reader the various 
passages of scripture to which I shall refer, I am perfectly aware 
that, from his early and familiar intercourse with the idea of a 
spiritual dominion, they may seem to him to have no direct and 
necessary connection with a local and terrestrial sovereignty : 
they may seem even to limit the promises of the future to an 
interpretation entirely spiritual. This limitation, however, I can- 
not hesitate to aver, increases tenfold the difficulties of scripture. 
Let the idea of a local and visible kingdom be added to the other, 
and the language of revelation becomes lucid and precise at 
once, accordant with all the analogies of the past, and declarative 
of a definite object yet to be realized in the momentous connec- 
tion of Jesus Christ with the world. 

Let us commence the examination of scripture, in reference 
to the kingdom of Christ, with the book of Psalms, ii. 6 : "Yet 
have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." Verse 8 : "Ask 
of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, 
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Again 
(Ps. viii. 4-9) : "O Lord our governor, how excellent is thy 
name in all the earth ! " 

I would here pause to inquire whether this psalm be fairly 
capable of a spiritual interpretation ? Does it not refer, in the 
whole texture of its language, to the original dominion over the 
earth which God gave to man? In confirmation of this assertion, 
I beg the reader to turn to Hebrews i. 2 - 5. Here Jesus Christ 
is styled the appointed heir o( all things : he is described to be 
greater than the angels, and to have the promise of the dominion 
over the world to come. This subjection of the world to come to 
his sway, is explained by the apostle to be precisely the original 
grant of the heirship of the eartli to Adam as described in the 
8th Psalm; a circumstance which identifies Jesus Christ, in a 
sense truly emphatic, to be the Second Adam, the true heir of 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 101 

this earth in its restored state called the world to come ; an 
expression I deem to be identical with the new heavens and 
new earth, both of St. Peter and the Apocalypse. The term 
world to come, is an expression which can only mean the ha- 
bitable earth to come. Thus speaks the apostle (Heb. ii. 5-9) : 
''For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to 
come, whereof we speak; but one in a certain place testified, 
saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him; or the son 
of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower 
than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and 
didst set him over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things 
in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection 
under him, he left nothing that is not put under him; but now 
we see not yet all things put under him, but we see Jesus, who 
was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, 
crowned with glory and lwnour, that he by the grace of God 
might taste death for every man." 

If I mistake not the meaning of the apostle, our blessed Lord 
is here described to be the antitype of Adam; and, as such, to 
have the ultimate dominion of the earth, not spiritually, but lo- 
cally vested in his hands. As man, he was made lower than the 
angels, for the suffering of death, that he might expiate the sins 
of his people, and open the way for their sovereignty in him over 
the earth. As God, he is, however, higher than the angels, and 
is crowned with glory and honour; but though he be king in 
fact, and though he now exercises a regal and spiritual authority 
while inhabiting the unseen world, yet he is not king in ac- 
tual and visible dominion : "we see not yet all things put 
under him." ( I would remark here, that in speaking of the 
type and antitype, we should ever bear in mind that the antitype 
rises above the type, in dominion, glory and perfection, as the 
Creator is above the creature. If this be kept in view, I think it 
will tend to relieve the mind from the shackles of education, 
prejudice, or human opinion.) 

This Psalm, therefore, I am unable to explain by any spiritual 
interpretation; and the comment of the apostle appears to me to 
place beyond a reasonable doubt the local sovereignty of Christ 
in the earth to come, even in the new condition of a renovated 
world. In this point of view, the 8th Psalm sheds a bright and 
steady light upon the nature and character of Christ's kingdom, 
by identifying that kingdom with the original grant of dominion 
made to Adam. 



102 



THE CRISIS. 



I beg- here to remark, once for all, that this view of the king- 
dom of Christ, in no sense whatever, excludes the prevalence of 
a spiritual and holy dominion : rather it presupposes it; but it 
connects this momentous dominion with a local and external 
sovereignty. 

This important Psalm, to my mind, thus incapable of a spi- 
ritual interpretation by any fair use of language, is one of those 
master keys which unlock the intricate words of many a prophetic 
record. 

Again, Psalm xxii. ever deemed prophetic of the humiliation 
of Christ, and beginning with these affecting words, extracted 
from him by the final anguish of the cross : "My God, my 
God! why hast thou forsaken me?" This Psalm refers in 
strong terms to his kingly exaltation. Verses 26, 27, 28 : It is 
here stated, that "the meek shall eat, and be satisfied; they shall 
praise the Lord that seek him : your heart shall live for ever. 
All the ends of the world shall remember, and turn unto the 
Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before 
thee ; for the kingdom is the Lord's, and he is the governor 
among the nations." In a spiritual and providential manner, he 
has always been king; but he is not yet king in the manifestation 
of his glory. Is not this kingdom, in fact, the same dominion 
spoken of in Psalm viii.? It is not yet established : all things 
are not yet put under him; but at his second advent, he will 
come to take possession of the crown to which he is the heir. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONCLUDED. 

The Kingdom of Christ. 

We refer next to the 45th Psalm, on which Bishop Horsley 
remarks, " This Psalm relates to the second advent : the Bride- 
groom is the conquering, not the suffering Messiah; the marriage 
is celebrated after his victories, and the Bride is the Church 
Catholic." The expression occurs in the 6th verse, as addressed 
to the Messiah at the time of his second advent. "Thy throne, 
God! is forever and ever : the sceptre of thy kingdom is a 
right sceptre." 

In similar language the 50th Psalm speaks. "Our God shall 
come, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall devour before him, 
and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call 
to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge 
his people. Gather my saints together unto me, those that have 
made a covenant with me by sacrifice; and the heavens shall 
declare his righteousness, for God is judge himself." 

Again, let us turn to the 72d Psalm. It is called 'A Psalm for 
Solomon,' but for him only as a type of the kingly power of 
Christ when manifested at his second advent. The whole psalm 
is a beautiful delineation of his peaceful sovereignty over the 
earth, under which, as in the 8th verse, he shall have dominion 
from sea to sea, and from the rivers unto the ends of the earth. 
"All kings shall fall down before him : all nations shall serve 
him; and blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole 
earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen." 

Let us consider next the langruas-e of the 93d Psalm. " The 
Lord reigneth : the world is established that it cannot be re- 
moved; the floods lift up their waves, but the Lord is mightier." 
In similar strains his advent and glorious dominion are described 
in the 96th, 97th, 98th, 99th and 100th Psalms. These ought 
to be read together, for they are all descriptive of one and the 



104 THE CRISIS. 

same subject, the victorious coming of the Son of man. One or 
two passages are here given. " The hills melted like wax at the 
presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare 
his righteousness, and all the people see his glory" (Ps. xcvii.). 
"0 sing unto the Lord a new song, for he hath done marvellous 
things! His right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the 
victory ! Let the floods clap their hands : let the hills be joyful 
together before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth with 
righteousness, and the people with equity! " (Ps. xcviii.). 

I beg the reader ever to recal to mind the language of the 
8th Psalm, as explained by the apostle to the Hebrews, as the 
true key to all these magnificent expressions of dominion and 
sovereignty. Can they be fairly limited, without wresting them 
from their direct meaning, to the spiritual victories of the Great 
Comforter? They include, indeed, his hallowed influences; but 
are they not literally descriptive of the personal glory of Christ, 
when he returns as the Second Adam to possess and govern the 
earth ? (And here, as I have before hinted, the importance of 
bearing in mind the transcendant glory and excellence of the 
antitype above and beyond the type.) 

I would here remark, that the expression so often used, to 
judge, to judge with equity, is not merely to pass sentence 
or judgment upon character, but to sway the sceptre, to protect 
and bless. To sign a death-warrant, or to confer a favour, is not 
the entire office of a sovereign : to guard, to cheer, to regulate 
by the sceptre of power, is a far nobler exercise of kingly au- 
thority. 

The whole number of these Psalms, from the 96th to the 
100th, are descriptive of the Messiah's reign of truth and glad- 
ness : they describe in glowing terms the overthrew of idolatry, 
the destruction of every antichristian confederacy, the restoration 
of Israel, and the triumph of the gospel among the heathen; and 
all this beneath the visible rule of the Redeemer. 

The 145th, 148th and 149th Psalms celebrate, also, in similar 
strains, the ultimate conquest and triumphant sway of the re- 
deemed saints. 

In closing these citations, I beg the reader to consider whether 
the personal advent of Christ with his saints, to rule with equity 
and love upon the earth, be not the idea which explains almost 
all the difficulties of these Songs of Zion? The frequent allusions 
to foes, and slander and blasphemy; the awful demonstrations 
of vengeance on the ungodly; the solemn imprecations, from 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 105 

which many turn away, as if scarcely consistent with the de- 
lineations of christian charity : all these, if referred to the great 
day, will harmonize with our ideas of the triumphant advent of 
our Lord. They are not descriptive of personal conflict, and of 
individual animosity : they are all prophetical of the great con- 
troversy of the Messiah with the infidel, the impious and the 
licentious; they are prophetical of the ultimate intentions of God 
with respect to the impenitent, in that approaching day when the 
agony and scorn under which the Saviour first became manifested 
in flesh, will be exchanged for the honour, the glory, and the 
victory of his return to the world. 

From these references to the book of Psalms, let us pass on 
to a selection of passages from the sacred writings, which are 
considered to be more directly prophetical of the day of the 
Messiah. 

I would, however, for a moment, entreat the reader to enter 
upon this examination in a spirit of seriousness and prayer. It 
may, perhaps, be a difficulty with some pious minds to become 
practically interested in these subjects : they are too much oc- 
cupied with the cares, sorrows, and trials of the present scene, 
to feel any practical sympathy with the probable or possible lot 
of those who may live in some distant age, as they suppose, of 
the earth. The nature and circumstances of the millennial reign, 
or the final results of this terrestrial system ; these subjects, 
hitherto accounted merely speculative, have much less interest in 
their view than the conflicts and sins and sadness of the passing 
day, and they prefer to fix their thoughts on those more palpable 
and constant anxieties with which their daily intercourse with 
God is wont to connect them. But if these subjects form a part 
of the revelation which God has made to man : if, on the one 
hand, it be the very nature and scope of the gospel to raise our 
views beyond the contracted range of our own immediate ne- 
cessities, to the great themes of mercy and of love, by which a 
redeemed race will ultimately be blessed ; and if, on the other 
hand, there be an awful, though unseen, conflict between Christ 
and Satan, yet unaccomplished as to its results upon the condition 
and welfare of the present world; if these things be so, can we 
deem the serious examination of the future prospects of the church 
to stand unconnected with all the higher interests of charity, or 
with the just illustration of the divine glory? Are we not, more- 
over, in danger of selfishness in our religion, as well as in our 
earthly pursuits? All seek their own; not the things which are 
7* 



106 THE CRISIS. 

Christ Jesus's : and the disinclination which we may feel to the 
examination of the future character of the christian dispensation 
may, perhaps, partly arise from this principle of unholy selfish- 
ness. Those who are pampering the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of 
the eye, and the pride of life, can take no delight in the con- 
templation of this subject : it is oppressive to all carnal views, 
and expectations of such. But to every true christian; to him 
who is justified, adopted and sanctified; to all such, the gospel 
does speak, and that powerfully, to our individual wants. It 
draws us apart, as it were, from the noise and throng of the 
world's crowded population, to enter into deep communion with 
our solitary wretchedness. But is not this individual application 
of its sacred remedies connected also with the ultimate design 
of uniting us to Christ, in the scene of his triumph and glory? 
Ought not then the manifestation of that glory, and the progress 
of his mediatorial plan, to be greatly interesting to our minds ? 
If we love him because he first loved us, shall we not go on to 
love him for his own excellence, and for the delight which he 
takes in the redemption of our fellow-creatures, as well as our- 
selves, from the thraldom of sin? Ought we to shrink away from 
any delineation which he may have deigned to make of his future 
intercourse with the world in which we dwell ? Ought we to 
deem it a wearisome task to trace the map of his providence; 
and to follow, as far as it may be possible, the course of his 
triumphs over the powers of evil, by which our happiness has 
been so cruelly assailed? Ought we not rather to feel cheered 
by the mighty grasp which he has taken of human welfare, and 
rejoice to anticipate the final victory which he will achieve over 
sin and Satan? I cannot but think that the contemplation of these 
subjects is calculated to exert a daily and important influence 
\ipon our spiritual character. Would our Divine Master have put 
the prayer of hope within our lips, if it were not thus connected 
with his own glory and our welfare? Would He have taught us 
incessantly to pray, "Thy kingdom come; thy will be done in 
earth as it is done in heaven," if it were not his intention to 
interest our minds in the expectation of that kingdom? May He 
then condescend to shed a serious and devotional influence upon 
our hearts, as we proceed to examine the declarations of His 
Word! 

In the second verse of the second chapter of Isaiah, we find 
these words : " And it shall come to pass in the last days, that 
the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 107 

of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all 
nations shall flow unto it." Verse 4 : "And he shall judge 
among- the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall 
beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning- 
hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall 
tEey learn war any more." Chapter ix. verse 6 : " For unto 
us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government 
shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Won- 
derful Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and 
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon 
his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and 
with justice from henceforth even for ever." 

For the sake of brevity, I will only give the quotations of 
those scriptures which I more immediately have in view in this 
place. 

Jeremiah iii. 16. The force of this passage, I would observe, 
lies in the contrast between the ark and the throne of the Lord. 
Formerly, to the Jewish nation, the ark was the type of the 
Divine presence and power; but in this day, Christ, the antitype, 
will himself possess the throne. 

Isaiah xxxiii. 5, 20. Micah li. 12; iv. 1, 3, 4, 7. Zechariah 
ii. 10; vi. 12; ix. 9, 12. Malachi iii. 1, 4. I beg the reader to 
connect these references with the declaration of the angel to 
Mary (Luke i. 31) : "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy 
womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus : he 
shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and 
the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, 
and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his 
kingdom there shall be no end." 

Let us here consider the import of the passages cited from 
these Jewish prophets. They are but specimens of numerous and 
similar declarations connected with the same unfulfilled event. 

It will probably be admitted that these passages of the pro- 
phetic writings are at least descriptive of a very wide dominion 
of a very glorious kingdom, to be established by the Messiah, 
which shall include both jew and gentile, and shall stretch at 
length from shore to shore. Every pious mind will probably 
assent to this point. But, to the question, Do these prophetic 
scriptures suggest the notion of the personal reign of Christ ? 
many may return a negative answer. We are accustomed to give 
these and similar promises an interpretation entirely spiritual. 



108 THE CRISIS. 

The justness of this interpretation is, however, a matter of serious 
inquiry ; for, I would beg to ask, Why is such a continual stress 
laid upon the throne of David, upon the covenant of day and 
night not being more firm than the promise that David shall not 
want a man to sit upon his throne? Why is so great a stress Jaid 
upon the house of David being as God, as the angel of the Lortl 
of Hosts before the people? Is a sense exclusively spiritual ade- 
quate to explain these terms? Is not Christ man as well as God? 
Is he not Mary's son; and, as such, heir to the throne of David? 
Was not the land of Canaan given to Abraham's seed for an 
inheritance; and is not Christ the true heir, as the human de- 
scendant of Abraham ? To say that the throne of David is a 
spiritual empire, exclusively the throne of the human heart; the 
moral sway of Christ over his people, whether jew or gentile : to 
say this, is surely to warp the legitimate meaning of words, and. 
affirm that because types of spiritual things exist, therefore every 
promise is a type of a spiritual blessing. We willingly grant that 
the kingdom sel forth by these passages of scripture is a spiritual 
kingdom : it is a cheering and delightful truth. But let it be well 
weighed whether the connection of Christ with Judah as the heir 
of David, which he truly is, and that in no mystical, but in a 
literal sense; let it be well weighed, whether his humanity be 
not strangely forgotten in this exclusively spiritual interpretation; 
and whether, while the prophets announce his reign from one 
end of the earth to the other, they do not likewise announce his 
personal return to the earth to re-establish the throne of David ? 
Whether they do not announce his advent to reign over his 
people, not as when he led them from Egypt by the emblem of 
his presence in the pillar of cloud and fire; or when, in the 
luminous oracle between the cherubim of the temple, be dwelt 
in Judah; but to reign in the midst of them by the visible ma- 
nifestation of his glorified humanity, as the undoubted heir to 
that kingdom where he once lay trodden under foot, despised, 
and rejected of man — now to claim at length the right of that 
sovereignty, which was mysteriously acknowledged when he 
expired beneath the superscription, read alike by rulers and by 
people, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews?' Let 
this question, at least, be duly examined, and candidly answered. 
Let us, in the next place, refer to a few passages which more 
plainly bear upon the visible glory of Christ. When our Re- 
deemer ascended into heaven, from the Mount of Olives, an angel 
thus addressed the disciples as they gazed upon his upward flight 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. 109 

(Acts i. 11) : "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up 
into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into 
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go 
into heaven." Will the reader be pleased to compare this with 
Zechariah xiv. 1 — 4 : " Behold the day of the Lord cometh, 
and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee; for I will 
gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. Then shall the 
Lord go forth, and fight against those nations as when he fought 
in the day of battle, and his feet shall stand upon the Mount of 
Olives" (the same place, recollect, from whence he ascended). 
I remark, here, that his (Christ's) ascension was from a personal, 
literal intercourse with his disciples on earth; and as the angels 
testified that he shall so come again, the inference, I think, is 
irresistible, that his second advent shall be a literal, personal 
intercourse with his glorified saints. "And it shall be in the day 
that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem : in summer and 
in winter shall it be" (verse 8). "And the Lord shall be king 
over all the earth : in that day shall there be one Lord, and his 
name one" (verse 9). 

Is it, I now ask, any wresting of words from their plain simple 
meaning, to interpret this prophecy, thus connected with the 
history of the ascension, as a promise of the personal descent of 
Christ upon the Mount of Olives, in order to put down his foes, 
to repossess the throne of David, and to be king over the whole 
earth? Can a lower meaning be given to these declarations? For 
while they affirm a blessed and healing and spiritual influence 
over the human heart, under the figure of the living waters going 
out from Jerusalem ; do they not connect with this spiritual 
dominion a terrestrial and visible sovereignty over the earth, of 
which sovereignty Jerusalem will be the central and metropolitan 
city? And to teach us that this coming of Christ to Mount Olivet 
is not to annihilate, but to bless the world by the peaceful sceptre 
of his grace, we are plainly informed by the prophet, in the 
16th verse, that "it shall come to pass, that every one that is 
left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even 
go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, 
and to keep the feast of tabernacles." Is not an intimation here 
given, that in his happy millennial reign, representatives shall go 
up from all lands to Jerusalem, as if to bind the peaceful earth 
in closer bonds of allegiance by the common offering of joy and 
praise in the central city of Messiah's empire ? Formerly they 
came from the twelve tribes to Jerusalem to worship : now they 



110 



THE CRISIS. 



will come from all lands, because Jerusalem will be the joy, not 
of one country, but of all the earth; for there is the throne of 
David, and there the glorious maniiestation of Messiah the prince! 

This interpretation is corroborated by various circumstances 
and sayings connected with our Lord's first advent to the earth. 
Thus John i. 49 : " Nathaniel answered and said unto him, 
Rabbi, thou art the Son of God ; thou art the King of Israel. 
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I 
saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou; thou shalt see greater 
things than these? And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of 
God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." Are not 
these expressions descriptive of the peaceful and abiding homage 
which Nathaniel would himself behold as paid to the Messiah, 
in that very place in which at that time the heir of Judah had 
not where to lay his head ? Did Nathaniel attach any other 
meaning to the title under which he addressed his Lord, ' Thou 
art the King of Israel,' than the sovereign of the terrestrial 
throne of David? And did our Lord reject in any measure that 
sovereignty, when he assured his guileless follower that he should 
see him at length, not in the mysterious humiliation under which 
he then stood, but in the splendour of regal glory, attended by 
the appropriate messengers of his kingdom ? And had not the 
disciples the same idea of his kingdom (Acts i.), when they asked 
if now he were about to restore the kingdom to Israel; and did 
he correct their notion as erroneous? Rather he left them in full 
possession of the expectation which they cherished, but threw a 
veil over the time and the season of his glorious epiphany to the 
world. 

Again (Matth. xix. 28) : " Verily I say unto you, That ye 
which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of 
man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also (lhat is, the 
apostles) shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel." What is this regeneration, when the Son of man shall 
sit on the throne of his glory? It cannot surely be in heaven; 
for death and disorder have no occupancy there. Seek an ex- 
planation of it in Acts iii. 19-21 : " Repent ye, therefore, and 
be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times 
of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ; and he 
shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, 
whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of 
all things." This restitution cannot be in heaven; for no heritage 



PRACTICAL MORALITY OF LIFE. Ill 

has been lost there. What then is this restitution of all things ? 
Is not the question answered by the same apostle who first spake 
these words at Jerusalem ? Is it not answered in his address to 
the strangers of the world then existing, but the heirs of a better? 
II. Peter iii. 10, 11 : "The day of the Lord will come as a 
thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with 
a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the 
earth, also, and the things that are therein, shall be burned up. 
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner 
of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?'* 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST, THE RESTORATION OF 
THE JEWS, AND THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 

The advent of Christ is the leading subject of the prophecies, 
both of the Old and the New Testament, either as it relates to 
his first or his second coming; and these are often connected 
together, particularly in the Old Testament. And as I am per- 
suaded, that at the present day, no writings on earth are so little 
read, or so imperfectly understood, as the Bible, the Revealed 
Will of God ; therefore T think it may be useful to subjoin a 
summary of some of the principal passages which chiefly relate 
to the second coming of Christ, although mingled indeed with 
predictions of his first coming, but with larger events and pro- 
mises than have ever yet been fulfilled or realized. The passages 
are as follows : Psalms i., lxxii., xcvi. to cii. ; Isaiah ii., xi., 
xxiv. to xxviii., lx., lxvi.; Jeremiah xxx. to xxxiii.; Ezekiel 
xxxvi.; Daniel vii., viii., xii.; Haggai ii.; Zechariah xii. to 
xiv.; Matthew xiii. to xxiv., and xxv.; Mark xiii.; Luke xii. 
xxxi.; John xiv.; I. Thessalonians iv. and v.; II. Thess. i. and 
ii.; I. Corinthians xv ; I. Timothy vi. 13; II. Tim. iv. 1-8; 
Romans viii. IS, and xi.; Jude; II. Peter ; and Revelations 
generally, all which will prove it to be a rapidly approaching 
event. "I come quickly," is an expression repeated four times 
in the last chapter; and the canon of scripture closes, leaving 
Christ on the earth. His speedy coming is reiterated no less than 
fifty times in the New Testament, and no intimation of his ever 
leaving the earth again. 

And here I will just advert to a difficulty that has been felt by 
some pious minds, in relation to that comprehensive petition of 
the Great Mediator in the seventeenth chapter of St. John. We 
will divide it into four distinct heads : First, Christ offers up, in 
verse 5, a prayer for himself : "And now, O Father, glorify 
me with thine own self," etc. Secondly, he intercedes, in verse 
11, for those who then formed his little flock on earth : "And 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 113 

now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and 
I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those 
whom thou hast given me." Thirdly, in verse 20, he extends 
that intercession to all those who, in after ages, should believe 
on him through their word. And, finally, he prays, in verse 21, 
that the world may believe, and know that he is the true Messiah. 
Now the difficulty lies in reconciling the two last divisions of this 
great intercession; for if verse 20 contains an enumeration of 
all believers to the end of this dispensation, as has been generally 
admilted, who then are the world who are to believe in conse- 
quence of their adherence to and union with the Redeemer? 
This difficulty, however, will disappear, if we adopt the doctrine 
of a personal advent before the millennium; for then the third 
petition is limited to those who shall believe on Christ previously 
to the time of his second coming, and the great instrument of 
their conversion is distinctly specified : " those which shall be- 
lieve on me through their word;" through the preaching of the 
apostles and evangelists. When that number has been completed, 
and all believers under the dispensation of the first advent shall 
have been gathered unto Christ, then the great promise will be 
fulfilled. "Then the heathen will be given to the Eedeemer as 
his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth as his pos- 
session" (Psalm ii. 8). Then the world will believe, not through 
the teaching of the scriptures, but in consequence of the appearing 
of the Great God, and our Saviour with all his saints. 



A View of the course of events yet to* take place. 

I will now introduce a number of cases, or propositions, 
which I believe to be clearly predicted in the word of God; and 
I shall bring forward those passages, which, to my mind, seem 
to prove and confirm each particular as I proceed. 

Proposition 1. When the times of the gentiles are passing 
away, or when they have filled up the measure of their apostacy 
in the last times. 

Proof. "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and 
shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall 
be trodden down of the gentiles, until the times of the gentiles 
be fulfilled" (Luke xxi. 24, 25). 

" For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest 
be also spare not thee" (Romans xi. 21). "For I would not, 



114 THE CRISIS. 

brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery — lest ye 
should be wise in your own conceits — that blindness in part is 
happened to Israel, until the fulness of the gentiles be come in, 
and so nil Israel shall be saved; as it is written, There shall come 
out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from 
Jacob; for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take 
away their sins. As concerning 1 the gospel, they are enemies for 
your sakes; but as touching the election, they are beloved for 
the fathers' sakes, for the gifts and calling of God are without 
repentance" (Rom. xi. 25-29). The apostle speaks, in the 
26th verse, of the Deliverer coming out of Sion, to turn away 
ungodliness from Jacob. He cannot here be speaking of his first 
advent, for He had already come and gone when the apostle 
wrote the above. 

Proposition 2. The jews are visibly recalled into the church 
of God. 

Proof. "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for 
one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sa- 
crifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of 
abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consum- 
mation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate' - * 
(Daniel ix. 27). 

"And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, 
that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the 
countries, to serve wood and stone. As I live, saith the Lord God, 
surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and 
with fury poured out, will I rule over you ; and I will bring you 
out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries 
wherein ye were scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a 
stretched-out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will purge 
out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against 
me : I will bring them forth out of the country where they so- 
journ, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel; and ye 
shall know that I am the Lord. For in mine holy mountain, in 
the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there 
shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me : 
there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, 
and the first-fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 
And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you 
into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up 
my hand to give it to your fathers. And then shall ye remember 
your ways, and all your doings wherein ye have been denied; 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 115 

and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, for all your 
evils that ye have committed. And ye shall know that I am the 
Lord, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, saith 
the Lord God" (Ezekiel xx. 32 - 44). 

" Thus saith the Lord, in an acceptable time have I heard 
thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will 
preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to 
establish the earth, to cause to inherit tho desolate heritages : 
that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that 
are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, 
and their pastures shall be in all high places : they shall not 
hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; 
for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the 
springs of waters shall he guide them; and I will make all my 
mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, 
these shall come from far; and, lo, these from the north and 
from the west, and these from the land of Sinim" (Isaiah xlix. 
8- 12). 

" For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusa- 
lem's sake will I not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth 
as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burnetii. 
And the gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy 
glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the 
mouth of the Lord shall name" (Isaiah lxii. 1-3). The whole 
of this chapter is applicable. 

Proposition 3. And what follows? Why, the jews par- 
take of his renewed favour : are restored to their own land. 

Proof. Ezekiel xxxvi. : The whole of this chapter is appli- 
cable to my purpose. I shall only quote a few passages. " Thus 
saith the Lord God, Because the enemy hath said against you, 
Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession; thus 
saith the Lord God, Because they have made you desolate, and 
swallowed vou up on every side, that ye might be a possession 
unto the residue of the heathen; thus saith the Lord God to the 
mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, to 
the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which be- 
come a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are 
round about; thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I have spoken in 
my jealousy, and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame 
of the heathen; for, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto 
you, and ye shall be tilled and sown; and I will multiply men 
upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities 



116 



THE CRISIS. 



shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded; and I will 
multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase and 
bring- fruit ; and I will settle you after your old estates, and will 
do better unto you than at your beginnings, and ye shall know 
that I am the Lord (verses 2 - 11). For I will take you from 
among the heathen, and will gather you out of all countries, and 
will bring you into your own land (24). Then will J sprinkle 
clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : a new heart, 
also, will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and 
ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers (28). Then 
the heathen shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places, 
and plant that that was desolate 1 *' (36). 

" And say unto them, thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will 
take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they 
be gone, and will bring them into their own land; and I will 
make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, 
and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no 
more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two king- 
doms any more at all; neither shall they defile themselves any 
more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with 
any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their 
dwelling places wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: 
so shall they be my people, and I will be their God" (Ezekiel 
xxxvii. 21 - 23). 

The whole of Psalm 37 is to the purpose : it is prophetical 
of good things to come. " Trust in the Lord, and do good; so 
shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. For 
evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, 
they shall inherit the earlh. For yet a little while, and the 
wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, 
and it shall not be; but the meek shall inherit the earth, and 
shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The Lord 
knoweth the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be 
for ever; for such as be blessed of him, shall inherit the earth : 
the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever" 
(Psala. xxxvii. 3, 9, 10, 11, 18, 22, 29). 

(C And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall 
set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his 
people, which shall be left; and he shall set up an ensign for 
the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather 
together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the 
earth" (Isa. xi. 11, 12). " Thou shalt no more be termed for- 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 117 

saken, neither shall thy land any more be termed desolate; but 
thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah; for the 
Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married" (Isa. 
Ixii. 4). " Thy people, also, shall be all righteous : they shall 
inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work 
of my hands, that I may be glorified" (Isaiah lx. 21). 

" At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all 
the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. Thus saith 
the Lord, the people which were left of the sword found grace 
in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to 
rest. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I 
have loved thee with an everlasting love : therefore with loving 
kindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou 
shalt be built, virgin of Israel. Thou shalt again be adorned 
with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that 
make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains : 
the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things; 
for there shall be a day that the watchmen upon the Mount 
Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the 
Lord our God" (Jeremiah xxxi. 1-6). 

" And the Lord said unto Abram, Lift up now thine eyes, 
and look from the place where thou art, northward and south- 
ward, and eastward and westward; for all the land which thou 
seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will 
make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can 
number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be num- 
bered. Arise, walk through the land, in the length of it and in 
the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee" (Gen. xiii. 
14 - 18). "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with 
Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the 
river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates" (Gen. xv. IS). 
(i And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy 
seed after thee in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to 
be a God unto thee and unto thy seed after thee; and I will give 
unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art 
a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession; 
and I will be their God" (Gen. xvii. 7 - 8). " Sojourn in this 
land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee 
and unto thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will per- 
form the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I 
will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will 
give unto thy seed all these countries, and in thy seed shall all 
the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis xxvi. 3, 4). 



118 THE CRISIS. 

" And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, 1 am the 
Lord; and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Ja- 
cob, by the name of God Almighty; and I have established my 
covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land 
of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have 
heard the groaning of the children of Israel; wherefore say unto 
the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out 
from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will take you 
to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall 
know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out 
from under the burdens of the Egyptians; and I will bring you 
unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to 
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it you for an 
heritage. I am the Lord" (Exodus vi. 2 - 8). 

11 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their 
fathers, and that also they have walked contrary unto me, and 
that I also have brought them into the land of their enemies; 
then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my 
covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I 
remember, and I will remember the land; and yet for all that, 
when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them 
away, neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly, and to 
break my covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God" 
(Leviticus xxvi. 40 - 44). 

" If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of 
heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and 
from thence will he fetch thee. And the Lord thy God will 
bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou 
shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee 
above thy fathers. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine 
heart, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart" (Deut. xxx. 
4 - 6). " Rejoice, ye nations, with his people; for he will 
avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to 
his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land and to his 
people" (Deuteronomy xxxii. 43). 

Proposition 4. The jews become now peculiarly exposed 
to the wrath of the apostate gentiles, who, under the last anti- 
christ, came against them. 

Proof, from the word of God. " Thus sailh the Lord, The 
heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is 
the house that ye build unto me, and where is the place of my 
rest ? For all those things hath my hand made, and all those 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 119 

things have been, saith the Lord; but to this man will I look, 
even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth 
at my word. He that killeth an ox, is as if he slew a man; he 
that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off ti dog's neck; he that 
offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he lhat 
burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol : yea, they have chosen 
their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations, 
I also will choose their delusions, and bring their fears upon 
them; because, when I called, none did answer; when I spake, 
they did not hear; but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose 
that in which I delighted not" (Isaiah lxvi. 1 - 4). 

" The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying. 
Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all 
these words that I have spoken unto thee in a book; for, lo, (he 
days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity 
of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord; and I will cause 
them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they 
shall possess it. And these are the words that the Lord spake 
concerning Israel, and concerning Judah; for thus saith the 
Lord, We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of 
peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with 
child ? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his 
loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into pale- 
ness ? Alas ! for that day is great, so that none is like it : it is 
even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 
For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that 
I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, 
and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him; but they 
shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I 
will raise up unto them" (Jeremiah xxx. 1 - 9). 



CHAPTER XV. 

SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 
Vie-w 01 the course of events yet to take place. 

We go on with the proof of the fourth proposition, which is 

tad tlio jews will become peculiarly exposed to the wrath of 
the apostate -entiles, who, under the last Antichrist, conn 

against them." Proof as follows : 

" And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of 
Israel, and such as are escaped o[ the house of Jacob, shall no 
more again stay upon him that smote them, hut shall stay upon 
the Lord, the Holy One o( Israel in truth. The remnant shah 
return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty Cnn\\ for 
though thy people ferae] he as the sand of the sea, yet a rem 
nant o\' them shall return : the consumption decreed shall over- 
flow with righteousness. For the Lord God oi hosts shall makx 
a consumption, even determined, in the midst ot' all the land; 
therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Q my people that 
dwellest in Zion, be not afraid ot' the Assyrian : he shall smite 
thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff' against thee after the 
manner of Egypt] for yet a very little while, and the indigna- 
tion shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction. And tin 
Lord o[ hosts shall stir up a scourge for him, according to the 
slaughter of Midian at the rock ol Oreb; and as his rod was 
upon the sea, so shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt 
And it shall come to pass in that day that his burden shall be 
taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy 
neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointuiff" 
(Isaiah x. 20-27). 

'• And he shall confirm the covenant with many tor one week; 
and in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and 
oblation to cease, and for the overspreading o\ abominations he 
shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that 
determined shall be poured upon the desolate" (Daniel ix. 27) 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 121 

<c Woe unto them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay on 
horses and trust in chariots; but they look not unto the Holy 
One of Israel, neither seek the Lord. Turn ye unto him from 
whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted. For in that 
day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols 
of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. 
Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty 
man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him; but 
he shall fear the sword, and his young- men shall be discomfited" 
(Isaiah xxxi. 1, 6 - S). 

"Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and 
dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee. 
When thou shaft cease to spoil, thou shall he spoiled; and when 
thoil shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal 
treacherously wilh tb.ee. Lord; be gracious unto us : we have 
waited for thee. Be thou their arm every morning-; our salva- 
tion, also, in die time of trouble. At (he lifting- up of thyself, the 
nations were scattered. The Lord is exalted, for he dwelleth on 
high : he hath tilled Zion with judgment and righteousness; and 
wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and 
strength of salvation : the fear of the Lord is his treasure. The 
ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. The highways lie 
waste; the wayfaring man ceaseth; the earth mourneth; Leba- 
non is ashamed and hewn down; Sharon is like a wilderness, 
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits. Now will I arise. 
saith the Lord : now will 1 be exalted; now will I lift up my- 
self" (Isaiah xxxiii. 1 - 10). 

" And the word oi' the Lord came unto me, saying, Son oi 
man, set thy face against Cog. the land of Magog, and prophecy 
against him, and say. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am 
against thee, Clog; and 1 will turn thee back, and will put 
hooks into thy jaws, and will bring thee forth and all thine 
army : Persia, Ethiopia and Lybia with them — all of them 
with shield and helmet; Gorrier and all his bands, and many 
people with th.ee. Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, 
thou and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be 
thou a guard unto them. After many days thou shalt be visited. 
In the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought 
back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, 
against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste; 
but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell 
safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm : 

8* 



122 THE CRISIS. 

thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land; thou, and all thy 
bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord God, 
It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things 
come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought; and 
thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages ; I 
will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, and of them 
dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, to 
take a spoil, and to turn thy hand upon the people that are 
gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, 
that dwell in the midst of the land. Art thou come to take a 
spoil ; to carry away silver and gold ; to take away cattle and 
goods; to take a great spoil ? Thus saith the Lord God, In that 
day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not 
know it ? And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north 
parts, thou and many people with thee, a mighty army; and 
thou shalt come against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover 
the land : it shall be in the latter days; and I will bring thee 
against my land, that the heathen may know me when I shall 
be sanctified in thee, Gog, before their eyes" (Ezekiel xxxviii. 
1-16). 

" And he shall enter also into the glorious land, and many 
countries shall be overthrown. He shall have power over the 
treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things 
of Egypt; but tidings out of the east, and out of the north, shall 
trouble him : therefore he shall go forth with great fury to de- 
stroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the 
tabernacles of his palace between the seas, in the glorious holy 
mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help 
him" (Daniel xi. 41 -45). 

Joel ii. 1 - 20 is applicable to the purpose; and also Micab 
iv. 8-10. 

" And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince 
which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be 
a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, 
even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be de- 
livered, every one that shall be found written in the book; and 
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, 
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting 
contempt" (Daniel xii. 1, 2). 

Proposition 5. Thus the signs in the sun, and in the moon, 
and in the stars, are manifested. 

Proof. " But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 123 

neither on the sabbath day; for then shall be great tribulation, 
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time : 
no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, 
there should no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake, those 
days shall be shortened. For there shall arise false christs and 
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; inso- 
much that if it were possible, they should deceive the very elect. 
Behold, I have told you before; for as the lightning cometh out 
of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the 
coming of the Son of man be : for wheresoever the carcase is, 
there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after 
the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the 
moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from 
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken" (Mat- 
thew xxiv. 20 - 29). 

" And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be 
led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trod- 
den down of the gentiles, until the times of the gentiles be ful- 
filled. And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, 
and in the stars; and upon the earth, distress of nations, with 
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing 
them for fear, and for looking after those things which are 
coming on the earth. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken; 
and then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with 
power and great glory" (Luke xxi. 24 — 26). 

" Whose Voice then shook the earth; but now he hath pro- 
mised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but 
also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the re- 
moving of those things that are shaken, as of things that are 
made, that Ihose things which can not be shaken may remain. 
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which can not be moved, 
let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with 
reverence and godly fear" (Hebrews xii. 26 - 28). 

" For thus saith the Lord of hosts, Yet once, it is a little 
while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth, and the sea, 
and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of 
nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith 
the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, 
saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai ii. 6, 7). 

" Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath 
and fierce anger to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy 
the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven, and the 



124 



THE CRISIS. 



constellations thereof, shall not give their light : the sun shall! 
be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause 
her light to shine; and I will punish the world for their evil, 
and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arro- 
gancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of 
the terrible" (Isaiah xiii. 9-11). 

" Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people : let 
the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world and all things 
that come forth of it. For the indignation of the Lord is upon all 
nations, and his fury upon all their armies : he hath utterly de- 
stroyed them; he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their 
slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of 
their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their 
blood. And all the hosts of heaven shall be dissolved, and the 
heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their hosts 
shall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a 
falling fig" (Isaiah xxxiv. 1 - 4). 

" Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of 
Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round 
about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, get 
you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow, for their 
wickedness is great; for the day of the Lord is near in the val- 
ley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and 
the stars shall withdraw their shining" (Joel iii. 12 - 15). 

" The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into 
blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And 
it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of 
the Lord shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem 
shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said" (Joel ii. 31, 32). 
" Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the 
way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly 
come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom 
ye delight in : Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts; 
but who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand 
when he appeareth ? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like ful- 
ler's soap; and he shall sit as a refiner of silver, and he shall" 
purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that 
they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then 
shall the offering of Judah and of Jerusalem be pleasant unto the 
Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. And I will 
come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness 
against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 125 

false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his 
wages, the widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the 
stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. 
For I am the Lord : I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob 
are not consumed" (Malachi iii. 1 - 6). 

Proposition 6. He raises his dead saints : he changes his 
living saints; they rise to be with him in the air. 

Proof. " And he shall send his angels with a great sound of 
a trumpet; and they shall gather together his elect from the 
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 
xx vi. 31). 

<c And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices 
in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the 
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for 
ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders which sat before 
God, on their seats, fell upon their faces and worshipped God, 
saying, We give thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, which art, 
and wast, and art to come ; because thou hast taken to thee thy 
great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and 
thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be 
judged; and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants 
the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, 
small and great, and shouldest destroy them which destroy the 
earth" (Revelation xi. 15- 18). 

" I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our 
Lord, I die daily. If after the manner of men I have fought with 
the beast, what ad vantage th it me, if the dead rise not ? Let us eat 
and drink; for to-morrow we die. Be not deceived : evil com- 
munications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, 
and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God. I speak 
this to your shame" (I. Corinthians xv. 31 - 34). 

lc For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, 
shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself 
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ 
shall rise first. Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in 
the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I. Thessalonians 
iv. 15-17). 

" So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, 
for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribula- 



126 



TIIE CRISIS. 



tions that ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous 
judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the king- 
dom of God, for which ye also suffer : seeing it is a righteous 
thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble 
you; and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord 
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels" 
(II. Thessalonians i. 4 - 7). 

" And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall 
beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, 
and ye shall be gathered one by one, ye children of Israel ! 
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet 
shall be blown; and they shall come which were ready to perish 
in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, 
and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem'* 
(Isaiah xxvii. 12, 13). 

" Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will 
keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon 
all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Reve- 
lation iii. 10). 

" Thy dead men shall live : together with my dead body shall 
they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew 
is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy 
doors about thee : hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment, 
until the indignation be overpast; for, behold, the Lord cometh 
out of his place, to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their 
iniquity : the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no 
more cover her slain" (Isaiah xxvi. 19- 21). 

" And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day 
when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man 
sparelh his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and 
discern between the righteous and the wicked; between him that 
serveth God, and him that serveth him not" (Malachi iii. 17, 18). 

Proposition 7. Then the beasts, the kings of the earth, and 
their armies gather together in their rage, enmity and blindness, 
to make war against the Lord, and the armies which follow him. 
(A very startling case this, at which the potentates of the earth 
will be as much troubled as was king Herod at the news of one 
being born king; but I assure all and every one who is engaged 
against King Jesus, that he is still alive, and will sooner or later 
be made manifest unto all.) But we go on to the proof of the 
proposition. 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 127 

" And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, 
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall 
see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power 
and great glory" (Matthew xxiv. 30). 

" And the nations were angry; and thy wrath is come, and 
the time of the dead that shey should be judged, and that thou 
shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the 
saints, and them that fear thy name small and great, and shouklesfc 
destroy them which destroy the earth" (Revelation xi. 18;. 

" For they are the spirits of devils working miracles, which 
go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to 
gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty" 
(Revelation xvi. 14). 

" And he shall pass through Judah : he shall overflow and 
go over; he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching 
out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, Immanueh 
Associate yourselves, ye people, and ye shall be broken in 
pieces : gird yourselves, and ye shall broken in pieces; take 
counsel together, and it shall not stand, for God is with us" 
(Isaiah viii. 8-10). 

" Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, my people 
that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian : he shall! 
smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff againt thee after 
the manner of Egypt; for yet a very little while, and the indig- 
nation shall cease" (Isaiah x. 24- 26). 



CHAPTER XVI. 

SUBJECT OF TKE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

View of the course of events yet to take place. 

We go on with the proof of the seventh proposition. 

" And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall 
punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of 
the earth upon the earth; and they shall be gathered together as 
prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the 
prison, and after many days shall they be visited" (Isaiah xxiv. 
21, 22). 

" Fury is not in me. Who would set the briers and thorns 
against me in battle ? I would go through them : I would burn 
them tog-ether" (Isa. xxvii. 4). " For thus hath the Lord spoken 
unto me, Like as the lion, and the young lion roaring on his 
prey, where a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, 
he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the 
noise of them; so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for 
Mount Zion, and for the hill thereof" (xxxi. 4). " Behold, they 
shall surely gather together, but not by me : whosoever shall 
gather together against thee, shall fall for thy sake" (liv. 15). 
" For I know their works and their thoughts : it shall come 
that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come 
and see my glory" (Isaiah lxvi. 18). 

"For, behold, in those days, and in that time when I shall 
bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also 
gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of 
Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people, and 
for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the 
nations, and parted my land" (Joel iii. 1, 2). 

" Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, 
Let her be denied, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they 
know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his 
counsel] for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the tloor. 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 129 

Arise and thrash, daughters of Zion; for I will make thy horn 
iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass, and thou shalt beat in 
pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the 
Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth" 
(Micahiv. 11, 12). 

" Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day 
that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather all 
nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them 
mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth 
shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I 
turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon 
the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent" (Zepha- 
niah iii. 8, 9). 

" Behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all 
people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against 
Judah and against Jerusalem; and in that day will I make Jeru- 
salem a burdensome stone for all people : all that burden them- 
selves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the 
earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the Lord, 
I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with 
madness; and the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 
The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord 
of hosts their God" (Zechariah xii. 2-5). 

" Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be 
divided in the midst of thee; for I will gather all nations against 
Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses 
rifled, and the women ravished. Then shall the Lord go forth 
and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day 
of battle; and his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of 
Olives, and ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; yea, ye 
shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake; and the 
Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee" (Zecha- 
riah xiv. 1-5). 

'* And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their 
armies gathered together, to make war against him that sat on 
the horse, and against his army" (Revelation xix. 19). 

Proposition 8. Then he pours his judgments on the last an- 
tichrist, and all his adherents, pleading with all flesh by fire and 
sword. Now to the proof. 

11 But of that day and hour knoweth no man; no, not the 
angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe 
were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be; for as in 



130 THE CRISIS. 

the days that were before the flood, until the day that Noe en- 
tered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took 
them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" 
(Matthew xxiv. 36-39). 

" And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous : 
seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled 
up the wrath of God" (Rev. xv. 1). " And there came one of 
the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, 
saying unto me, Come hither : I will shew unto thee the judg- 
ment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters" (Revela- 
tion xvii. 1). 

" And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it 
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall 
be poured upon the desolate" (Daniel ix. 27). 

" For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, 
and mine anger in their destruction" (Isa. x. 25, 26). " The 
Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, As I have purposed, so shall 
it stand ; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the 
nations" (xiv. 24 - 26). " That the Lord shall punish the hosts 
of high ones, and the kings of the earth upon the earth, and they 
shall be shut up in the prison" (xxiv. 21 - 23), " For it is 
the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses 
for the controversy of Zion; and the streams thereof shall be 
turned in pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone : it shall 
not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up 
for ever" (xxxiv. 8 - 10). " I have trodden the wine-press alone, 
and of the people there was none with me; for I will tread them 
in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood 
shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my 
raiment. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year 
of my redeemed is come; but they rebelled, and vexed his holy 
spirit : therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he 
fought against them" (Isaiah lxiii. 3, 4, 10). 

" And I saw heaven opened; and, behold, a white horse, and 
he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteous- 
ness he doth judge and make war; and he was clothed with a 
vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of 
God; and the armies which were in heaven followed him upon 
white horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean; and out of 
his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the 
nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth 
the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 131 

I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud 
voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, 
Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the 
great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings" (Revelation xix. 
11-18). 

" Assemble yourselves, and come all ye heathen, and gather 
yourselves together round about : thither cause thy mighty 
ones to come down, Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and 
come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to 
judge all the heathen. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. 
Come get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow, for 
their wickedness is great; for the day of the Lord is near in the 
valley of decision" (Joel iii. 11 - 14). 

" What do ye imagine against the Lord ? He will make an 
utter end : affliction shall not rise up the second time. For while 
they be folded together as thorns, and while they are drunken as 
drunkards, they sha&l be devoured as stubble fully dry. There is 
one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the Lord, a 
wicked counsellor. Thus saith the Lord, Though they be quiet, 
and likewise many, yet shall they be cut down when he shall 
pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no 
more; for now will I break his yoke from otf thee, and will 
burst thy bonds in sunder. And the Lord hath given a command- 
ment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown. Out 
of the house of thy gods will I cut off* the graven image and the 
molten image : I will make thy grave, for thou art vile. Behold, 
upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that 
publisheth peace ! Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy 
vows; for the wicked shall no more pass through thee : he is 
utterly cutoff" (Nahum i. 9 - 15). 

" Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning 
with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy : his lips are full 
of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire; and his breath, 
as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, 
to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity; and there shall be a 
bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. Ye shall 
have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and 
gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into 
the mountain of the Lord, to the Mighty One of Israel. And the 
Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew 
the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, 
and with the flame of a devouring fire; with scattering, and tern- 



132 THE CRISIS. 

pest, and hail-stones. For through the voice of the Lord shall the 
Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. For Tophet 
is ordained of old ; yea, for the king it is prepared : he hath 
made it deep and large ; the pile thereof is fire and much wood ; 
the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle 
it" (Isaiah xxx. 27-33). 

"Thy heart was lifted up, because of thy beauty; thou hast 
corrupted thy wisdom, by reason of thy brightness. I will cast 
thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may 
behold thee. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against 
thee, Zion, and I will be glorified in the midst of thee; and 
they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed 
judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her. For I will send 
into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded 
shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on 
every side, and they shall know that I am the Lord God" (Eze- 
kiel xxviii. 17 - 23). 

" I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient 
of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair 
of his head like the pure wool : his throne was like the fiery 
flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and 
came forth from before him : thousand thousands ministered unto 
him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him : the 
judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld, then, 
because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; 
I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed 
and given to the burning flame. I saw in the night visions, and, 
behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, 
and he came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near 
before him; and there was given him dominion and glory, and 
a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages, should serve 
him : his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not 
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" 
(Daniel vii. 9-14). 

"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; 
and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; 
and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of 
hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto 
you that fear my name, shall the sun of righteousness arise with 
healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as 
calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they 
be ashes under the soles of your feet, in the day that I shall do 
this, saith the Lord of hosts" (Malachi iv. 1 - 3). 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 133 

€f Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his 
floor, and gather the wheat into his garner ; but the chaff he will 
burn up with unquenchable fire" (Matthew iii. 12). 

" When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with 
his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them 
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ'' (II. Thessalonians i. 7, 8). 

" And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord 
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with 
the brightness of his coming" (II. Thessalonians ii. 8). 

' c For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all 
flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many" (Isaiah lxvi. 16). 

" And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he 
should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of 
iron; and he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath 
of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture, and on his thigh, 
a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. And I saw 
an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, 
saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come, 
gather yourselves together unto the supper of the Great God, 
that ye may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains, and 
the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them 
that sit on them, and the flesh of all men both free and bond, 
both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the 
earth and their armies, gathered together to make war against 
him that sat on the horse, and against his army; and the beast 
was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought mira- 
cles before him, with which he deceived them that had received 
the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image : 
these both were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with 
brimstone" (Revelation xix. 1-5 — 20). 

Proposition 9. The jews, at length humbled by their great 
afflictions, and brought to penitence by beholding their pierced 
Saviour, welcome his return to earth. 

Proof. " And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of suppli- 
cations; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, 
and they shall mourn for him as one moumeth for his only son, 
and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for 
his first-born : in that day shall there be a great mourning in 
Jerusalem. And the land shall mourn, every family apart : the 
family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the 



134 THE CRISIS. 

family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the 
family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; and all 
the families that remain apart, and their wives apart" (Zecha- 
riah xii. 10- l4). 

'• Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and 
gather them from the coasts of the earth; and with them the 
blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth 
with child together, a great company shall return thither : they 
shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them. 
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight 
way, wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father of Israel, 
and Ephraim is my first-born. Hear the word of the Lord, ye 
nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that 
scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd 
doth his flock; for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed 
him from the hand of him that was stronger than lie : therefore 
they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow 
together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, 
and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd; and 
their soul shall be as a watered garden, and tlvey shall not sor- 
row any more at all" (Jeremiah xxxi. 8- 12). 

" Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may 
be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the 
presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which 
before was preached unto you" (Acts iii. 19, 20). 

" Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and not be afraid; 
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song : he also is 
become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water 
out of the wells of salvation; and in that day shall ye say, Praise 
the Lord; call upon his name; declare his doing among the 
people; and make mention that his name is exalted" (Isaiah xii. 
2-4). 

Psalms xcviii., cxvii. and cxviii. are all applicable. 

" And after these things I heard a great voice of much people 
in heaven, saying, Alleluia ! Salvation, and glory, and honour, 
and power, unto the Lord our God. And again they said Alle- 
luia; and her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four 
and twenty elders, and the four beasts, fell down and worshipped 
God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen, Alleluia. And I heard 
as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of 
many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, 
Alleluia; for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth" (Revelation 
xix. 1, 3, 4, 6). 






SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 135 

Proposition 10. glorious consummation of the divine pur- 
pose, patience and faithfulness ! How amazing the excess of 
his loving kindness to his people ! How fearful, too, his judg- 
ments, when his fire consumes his foes ! Satan is then bound ; 
and our Lord, rewarding all his faithful followers for every loss 
and sacrifice made for him, begins his glorious millennial reign, 
with his saints over the earth, and over the nations who have 
escaped those awful judgments which have consumed his foes. 
But to the proof. 

" Behold, a king shall reign in righteousnes, and princes shall 
rule in judgment" (Isaiah xxxii. 1). 

" But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, 
and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever'* 
(Daniel vii. 18 - 27). 



CHAPTER XVII. 

; SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

View of the course of events yet to take place. 

" Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was 
diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were 
of iron and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, 
and stamped the residue with his feet. I beheld, and the same 
horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, until 
the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints 
of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed 
the kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth 
kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, 
and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and 
break it in pieces. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take 
away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 
And the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the 
Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all 
dominions shall serve and obey him" (Daniel viii. 10 - 27). 

" But thou, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, 
even to the lime of the end : many shall run to and fro, and 
knowledge shall be increased " (Daniel xii. 4). 

" Ye are they which have continued with me in my tempta- 
tions; and I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath 
appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my 
kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" 
(Luke xxii. 28 - 30). 

" And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
Hereafter ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God 
ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John i. 51). 

"And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and 
the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou 
shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 137 

saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest 
destroy them which destroy the earth" (Rev. xi. 18). "And I 
saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was 
given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded 
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which 
had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had 
received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and 
they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Revela- 
tion xx. 4 - 6). 

Our Lord reigns until he shall have completely put all enemies 
under his feet. Satan himself is cast into the lake of fire : the 
final judgment of all the dead takes place; and then death and 
hell, and whosoever is not found written in the book of life, are 
cast into a lake of fire (Rev. xx. 10 - 15). The new heavens 
and the new earth being now perfected, the Holy City descends, 
and the happiest state arrives, when Christ surrenders the me- 
diatorial kingdom, and God is all in all, and his saints reign for 
ever and ever (Rev. xxi., xxii. 5). 

These are some of the immensely important events which are 
connected with the coming of our Lord. Though the details of 
them may be more hid in obscurity, the events themselves are 
clearly revealed; and if these events are before the church and 
the world, they ought to be made known, that men every where 
may be awakened from their present slumbers, and flee from the 
wrath to come. 

One object which I have had in view in quoting so much 
scripture in this work, was, if possible, to induce professors of 
religion at least to become more and better acquainted with the 
scriptures; to see and ascertain whether these things be so or not. 
For I am persuaded, from forty years' experience and close 
observation, that the book called the Bible is the least and the 
last read of any print, in this land called christian. One hun- 
dred pages of the floating poison is read, to one chapter of the 
sacred oracles of God's word, and that by professors too. 

I shall now state a number of cases, where the coming of 
Christ, as mentioned in scripture, is to be understood as a literal 
personal coming; that it was so understood by the apostles them- 
selves. The original word by which the coming of the Lord is 
expressed, has reference to his actual epiphany and personal 
revelation, and, when applied to persons, appears always to have 
reference to the actual personal presence or arrival of that person. 
9* 



138 THE CRISIS. 

The following- are all the passages which represent the coming 
of Christ (the original word is parousid) : 

1. * What shall be the sign of thy coming? ' (Mat. xxiv. 3). 

2. ' For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth 
even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son be* 
(Matth. xxiv. 27). 

3. - But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming 
of the Son of man be' (Matth. xxiv. 37). 

4. ' They were eating and drinking, and knew not until the 
flood came and took them all away : so also shall the coming 
of the Son of man be' (Matth. xxiv. 38, 39). 

5. 'But every man in his own order : Christ the first-fruits; 
afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming' (I. Cor. xv. 23). 

6. ' I am glad of the coming of Stephanas, and Fortunatus, 
and Achaicus; for that which was lacking on your part, they 
have supplied' (I. Cor. xvi. 17). 

7. 'Nevertheless, God, that comforteth those that are cast 
down, comforted us by the coming of Titus' (II. Cor. vii. 6), 

8. ' And not by his coming only, but by the consolalion 
wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your ear- 
nest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so 
that I rejoiced the more' (II. Cor. vii. 7). 

9. 'For his letters (say they) are weighty and powerful, but 
his bodily presence is weak,, and his speech contemptible' ( II. 
Cor. x. 10). 

10. 'That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus 
Christ for me, by my coming to you again' (Phil. i. 26). 

11. 'Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not 
as in my 'presence only, but now much more in my absence, 
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling' (Phil. ii 
12). 

12. ' For what is our hope or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? 
Are not ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his 
comingV (I. Thess. ii. 19). 

13. 'To the end that he may establish your hearts unblamable 
in holiness before God even our Father, at the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints' (I. Thess. iii. 13). 

14. ' For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that 
we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, 
shall not prevent them that are asleep' (I. Thess. iv. 15). 

15. 'And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I 
pray God your whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 139 

blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ' (I. Thess. 
v. 23). 

16. 'Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering- together unto him' (II. 
Thess. ii. 1). 

17. 'And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord 
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with 
the brightness of his coming : even him whose coming is after 
the working of Satan' (II. Thess. ii. 8, 9). 

18. 'Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the 
Lord' (James v. 7). 

19. 'For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh' (Jas. ii. 8). 
20- ' For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when 

we made known unto, you the power and coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty' (II. Peter i. 
16). 

21. 'Saying, Where is the promise of his comingV ( II. 
Pet, iii. 4). 

22. ' Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of 
God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and 
the elements shall melt with fervent heat' (II. Pet. iii. 12). 

23. 'And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he 
shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed be- 
fore him at his coming y (I. John ii. 28). 

In all these 23 instances, the original word is parousia — to 
signify personal presence. 

In regard to the time of the advent, if the great events asso- 
ciated with it are considered to be pre-millennial, the coming of 
the Lord will be found declared somewhere or other in scripture 
as synchronous with them, and therefore likewise pre-millennial. 
It is not so much the order, but the events themselves that must 
be taken into account by the student. 

For example, there is the destruction of antichrist, which is 
to be effected ( II. Thess. ii. 8) by the brightness or epiphany of 
the Lord's coming, or parousia. Either, therefore, the Lord's 
glorious epiphany is previous to the millennium, in order to 
accomplish this; or antichrist continues throughout the millen- 
nium, contrary to all proper notions of that blessed period. The 
same is shown in Daniel vii. 20 - 22 : the little horn prevails 
against the saints, until the Ancient of days comes, and judgment 
is given to the saints of the Most High, and the time comes that 
the saints possess the kingdom. If, again, we regard the dates of 



140 THE CRISIS. 

Daniel, whether they be considered as having a mystical signifi- 
cation, or be understood literally, they are admitted by all to 
terminate before the millennium. But it is expressly declared to 
Daniel, "Go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, 
and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." So that at the end of 
those days which are to elapse before the millennium, Daniel is 
to rise from the dead, in order to have his part or lot in the glory 
then to be revealed. And if a resurrection is then to take place, 
of course Christ must then appear; for when the saints are raised 
and caught up, it is expressly declared to be at the coming of the 
Lord. "But every man in his own order : Christ the first-fruits; 
afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming" (I. Cor. xv. 23). 
"For if we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again, even 
so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him" (I. 
Thess. iv. 14). "Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in 
the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (verse 17). 

Again, if we regard the restoration of the jews, it is written, 
"Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to 
favour her, yea, the set time is come; for thy servants take 
pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So shall the 
heathen fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth 
thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear 
in his glory." Now the restoration of the jews, and the rebuilding 
of Zion, must be at the commencement of the millennium; for 
it would be contrary to every thing predicted of the millennial 
state, to suppose that any people shall be existing who do not 
recognize the Lord. But then at this building of Zion, the Lord 
shall appear in his glory; therefore the Lord shall appear at the 
restoration of the jews, as it is written, " There shall come out of 
Zion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" 
(Rom. xi. 26). 

But some may deny a literal restoration of the jews, as jews, 
at any period; and imagine that the building of Zion, spoken 
of in the Psalms, refers to a future glorious triumph of the church. 
In this case, however, we must equally place the event at the 
beginning of the millennium; for what sort of a millennium 
would that be, in which the spiritual Zion, the church of the living 
God, should still remain trampled in the dust? Such a nation will 
not comport with any view of the millennium at present enter- 
tained by christians. It clearly follows, therefore, whichsoever 
view we take, that the Lord appears in his glory at the beginning 
of the millennium. 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 141 

This view is further confirmed by a consideration of the feast 
of tabernacles, the antitype of which is to be enjoined at the 
final restoration of the jews, "when every man shall sit under 
his own vine and under his own fig-tree." In Zech. xiv. there is 
described a great warfare against the nations, which combine 
together and come up against Jerusalem; and every one of the 
nations that continues after that warfare, is required to go up, 
from year to year, to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and 
to keep the feast of tabernacles (verse 16). This description of 
their going up annually, and to keep this festival, shows that the 
transaction takes place on earth. There is afterwards a punish- 
ment described, which shall fall upon those nations that neglect 
to go up to the city — that they shall have no rain; and because 
in the land of Egypt it never reigns, a peculiar and distinct 
plague is threatened if that nation do not go up; which again 
proves it to be a state on earth (verse 17 - 19). Now previous 
to this, during that very warfare from the dire effects of which 
these nations escape, the Lord appears, and his feet stand upon 
the Mount of Olives (verse 4) ; and not only is the Lord declared 
to come, "but all the saints with thee" (verse 5). 

One more passage, shall be adduced, as corroborating what has 
been stated concerning the resurrection of Daniel, to wit, that 
which relates to the marriage of the Lamb : and as this event is 
no other than the union of the Lord with the Church, his glorified 
Church on earth, who has now put on her glorious apparel, and 
made herself ready; so the resurrection of the saints must ne- 
cessarily have taken place, and also the transfiguration of the 
living saints, and the coming of the Lord Jesus. But the marriage 
of the Lamb's wife is. in Revelation xix. intimately connected 
with the period of the final judgment on Babylon (verse 1 - 8) : 
"And I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, 
Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honour and power unto the 
Lord our God. Let us rejoice and give honour to him; for the 
marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife hath made herself 
ready." And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in 
fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness 
of saints. The armies on white horses, and in fine linen white 
and clean, are probably these same risen saints, who receive the 
two-edged sword, to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and 
punishments on the people; to bind their kings with chains, and 
their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judg- 
ments written : this honour have all his saints. This would seem 



142 



THE CRISIS. 



to make the resurrection of the saints pre-millennial; and if their 
resurrection, so also the advent of their Lord. 

Now it happens in regard to some of the more important 
subjects of prophecy (at least it has been so in my own case), 
that we have not so much to learn as to unlearn. I advert to the 
second advent of the Lord Jesus, with all his saints, which, in- 
stead of occupying the place assigned to it by the New Testament, 
has been superseded by an unscriptural mode of calling upon 
sinners to repent, because death is at hand; and exhorting be- 
lievers with a promise of entering into their glory immediately 
after their decease. 

Notwithstanding I do most unreservedly entertain the opinion 
that the souls of believers do, immediately after death, enjoy a 
blessed and a conscious rest, and that they do visibly behold the 
Lord, yet this is not the great promise of the scriptures; this is 
not the glory which the New Testament holds up to believers : 
that glory (whether it refer to their throne, their crown, their 
inheritance, their degree, or their incorruptible body) is in- 
variably deferred by the apostles until the coming of the Lord. I 
know not of one scripture which clearly and directly speaks of 
the believer as entering into his glory, or partaking of the pro- 
mise at death. Look at the cloud of witnesses (Heb. xi.). 

What I mean to insist on, is, that christians, in their ordinary 
expositions and discourses, make these truths subordinate, and 
the intermediate prospect of death pre-eminent; whereas the 
scriptures make the advent and resurrection principal features, 
and death is only mentioned incidentally. But to the proof. We 
begin with Paul (T. Cor. xv.) ; He labours to show, that if there 
be no resurrection hereafter, our faith is vain. But what force 
would there be in such an argument as this, if the believer en- 
tered into his reward at death? For death in itself is no blessing, 
but a part of the curse. Alas! it is wonderful to think how little 
practical influence this doctrine really has with the majority of 
professors! The thoughts of it does not give them one atom more 
power, nor supply them with one additional motive to mortify 
their sinful lusts and passions : a plain proof to me, that it can- 
not be believed with the heart. 

We will now examine a few cases, and see what was the 
apostle's constant theme of practical preaching, in his exhorta- 
tions to believers. First, as to general obedience and holiness of 
life, he urges, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of 
his Father, with Ins angels; and then he shall reward every man 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 143 

according- to his works" (Matth. xvi. 27). "And now, little 
children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have 
confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (I. 
John ii. 28). " We know that when he shall appear, we shall be 
like him, for we shall see him as he is; and every man that hath 
this hope in him, purifieth himself even as He is pure" (Ibid. iii. 
2, 3). "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to 
give every man according as his works shall be" (Rev. xxii. 12). 

Motive to spirituality of mind. 

"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we 
look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our 
vile body" (Phil. iii. 20, 21). 

Motive to watchfulness. 

"Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord 
cometh. Therefore be ye also ready ; for in such an hour as ye 
think not, the Son of man cometh" (Matth. xxiv. 42, 44). 

"Watch, therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour 
wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matth. xxv. 13). 

" Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning. 
Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall 
find watching" (Luke xii. 35, 37)^ 

"Behold, I come as a thief! Blessed is he that watcheth and 
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame" 
(Rev. xvi. 15). 

"But ye, brethren, arc not in darkness, that that day should 
overtake you as a thief : ye are all the children of light, and of 
the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness : therefore let 
us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch, and be sober" (I. 
Thess. v. 4 - 6). 

"Behold, I come quickly! Blessed is he that keepeth the 
sayings of the prophecy of this book" (Rev. xxii. 7). 

Motive to patience and long-suffering-. 

"We ourselves glory in you, in the church of God, for your 
patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that 
ye endure; seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense 
tribulation to them that trouble you. And to you who are trou- 
bled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from 
heaven," etc. (II. Thess. i. 4 - 7). 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONCLUDED. ; 
View of the course of events yet to take place. 

We go on with the writers of the New Testament, and to 
ascertain what their uniform practice was in their exhibitions of 
scriptural truth; their exhortations, their admonitions and warn- 
ings in regard to the future. The scripture promise called the 
binding of Satan; the first resurrection; the reign of the martyrs; 
the coming of the Son of man, to whom shall be given the 
dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole 
heavens : these great scriptural truths were not by the apostles 
made mere subordinates, but principal features in all their 
exhibitions of the scripture doctrines. But to the proof. 

We begin with Paul (I. Cor. xv.). In this chapter, he labours 
to show, that if there be no resurrection hereafter, our faith is 
vain. This is plain and explicit; for the object of the apostle was 
to show them the mystery of the resurrection, and therefore we 
must suppose that he expounds it in as plain and literal a manner 
as possible. And we may hope for equal distinctness in the fourth 
chapter of Thessalonians; for here he expressly instructs his 
disciples in regard to the state of those who are dead in Christ, 
declaring that he would not have them ignorant concerning them, 
and thus sorrow for their departure as those persons who never 
hope to see their dead again. He gives them to understand that 
they shall see their friends again in this world : he reminds them 
that the resurrection of Jesus is the pledge of theirs; and that 
when the Lord comes, he will bring them with him. "I would 
not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are 
asleep, that ye sorrow not as others which have no hope; for if 
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also 
which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." Then he goes 
on to assure them that the promises are not for those only who 
shall be alive at the coming of the Lord, but for departed saints 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 145 

as well; that when the Lord shall descend from heaven, the 
dead in Christ shall rise first. The same thing is stated in the 
same way by the apostle James, not to hope for their reward at 
death, but exhorts them to be patient until the coming of the 
Lord. Peter also tells his people, " When the Chief Shepherd 
shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory, that fadeth not 
away." So John : " We know that when he shall appear, we 
shall be like him." 

These things are consistent, and just what we might expect 
if the great recompense of reward were deferred till the second 
coming of Jesus Christ, as if it were the prize chiefly held up to 
view. We shall, in that case, not only find it laid down in the 
New Testament as a doctrine of the apostles, but we shall per- 
ceive the primitive church in general to be affected with this 
view of the subject, and either speaking or spoken of as looking 
eagerly forward to such an event. Their hopes appear to have 
been bound up in the doctrine of Christ's second appearance; 
and tins hope, I say, would be an essential one (the want of it 
would imply the grossest unbelief). This feature, however, pre- 
eminently marks the character of the scripture saints, as will 
appear from a few passages from Paul's epistle to the Romans. 
The earnest expectation of the new creature is said to be wait- 
ing for the manifestation of the Son of God; groaning within 
itself, and waiting for the redemption of the body, or the first 
resurrection (Rom. viii. 19 - 23). In I. Cor. i. 7, he thanks 
God that they came behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. In I. Thess. i. 9, 10, he says that they 
turned from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait 
for his Son from heaven. In Phil. iii. 20, he thus speaks of him- 
self and them : For our conversation is in heaven; from whence 
also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He seems 
to make the loving of the appearing of Christ a decided mark of 
grace, and the reward of righteousness to those only who par- 
take of this desire. A crown (saith he) which the Lord shall 
give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also 
who love his appearing (II. Tim. iv. 8). A text in Hebrews ix. 
28, seems to make the like distinction : " Christ was once of- 
fered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him, 
shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." And 
we have much more to the same purport, especially from Paul : 
whether he speaks of himself, of his followers, or both together, 
he still keeps holding forth to their view the end of this pre- 
10 



146 THE CRISIS. 

sent dispensation; and he treats of it as though, in regard to 
a succeeding generation, it might not be recognized. Is it to 
himself he refers : his words are, " I know whom I have be^ 
lieved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I 
have committed unto him against that day. 55 Is it them he speaks 
of : " He which hath begun a good work in you, will perform 
it until the day of Jesus Christ." Does he include himself with 
them : then he says, " The dead shall be raised incorruptible, 
and we shall be changed : we which are alive, and remain, shall 
be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord 
in the air." 

The greatest and most ordinary objects of religious interest 
and expectation are also deferred for their completion unto this 
time. Is it grace : though given now, still, as to its consumma- 
tion, it is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ 
(I. Peter i. 13). Is it rest : it is when the Lord Jesus shall be 
revealed in the last time (I. Peter i. 5). Finally the Spirit and 
the Bride (the Universal Church, and the Holy Ghost in her) say 
Come, and let him that heareth say Come. He which testifieth 
these things saith, Surely, I come quickly; and one who was in 
the spirit responded, Amen, even so come Lord Jesus (Rev. 
xxii. 17-20). 

The passages of scripture which go to prove the doctrine of 
the resurrection of the saints will be reserved for a further dis- 
cussion on that particular. In the mean while, I earnestly be- 
seech the reader, especially if he be a minister, dispassionately 
to consider what has been already advanced. I therefore humbly 
but seriously ask, Is the general tone or style of preaching con- 
sistent with these extracts ? Has not the wisdom of man substi- 
tuted its own inventions for the wisdom of God ? I grant, that to 
the natural man, an object of sense will always appear better 
suited to exert an influence, than an object of faith; will seem 
more likely to awaken, than to plead an advent and a resurrec- 
tion : but to act thus, is surely inconsistent in the spiritual man, 
who is the minister of a gospel that especially addresses itself to 
the eye of faith. For a ministry thus conducted must be less 
fruitful than one which implicitly relies on what is written; and 
if it is not so influential in other respects, it ought to be enough 
for every christian mind to know that it is not the scripture mode 
of stating these truths. This private opinion has ejected the tes- 
timony of the Spirit from its place in the pulpit; and the advent, 
and resurrection, and kingdom of Christ, are degraded to the 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 147 

private station. May the voice of the Betrothed Spouse of Christ 
again be heard, crying, with the Spirit, Come ! May those who 
have the first fruits of the Spirit be found in every instance 
groaning within themselves, and waiting for the adoption, to wit, 
the redemption of the body ! 

The Advent and Kingdom of Christ. 

We propose to inquire concerning the time when this kingdom 
may be properly said to have been set up, a right apprehension 
of which will materially assist our determination on other points. 

First, many consider the kingdom of God to consist in his 
now reigning by his power and providence, overruling the wrath 
of ungodly men, and restraining the remainder. Thus, say they, 
the jews obeyed when crucifying Jesus; whereof the Holy Ghost 
cries in anticipation, " Why do the heathen rage, and the peo- 
ple imagine a vain thing ? Yet have I set my king upon my 
holy hill of Zion." Now it must be admitted as beyond dispute 
by those who believe the scriptures, that the Most High ruleth 
in the kingdoms of men, and that "God is the governor among 
the nations. But if this be the kingdom intended above, it was 
set up at the creation of the world; for there never was a period 
since the creation, in which God has not thus ruled and over- 
ruled mankind. But the kingdom of which I am speaking, was 
the subject of promise certainly as late as the time of Daniel; a 
circumstance quite incompatible with its existence then and 
previously. Neither could it have been set up at any period be- 
tween the time of Daniel, and our Lord's incarnation; for it is 
the Son of man, to whom, according to Daniel, the dominion is 
given, and it is impossible he can have reigned as man before 
he was made man. 

That the kingdom and glory to be manifested are especially 
assigned over to him as man, is evident from other scripture tes- 
timony. " God hath put all things under his feet" (I. Cor. xv. 
27). " What is man, or the son of man, that thou visitest him ? 
Thou madest him a little lower (or for a little while lower) than 
the angels : thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet" 
(Heb. ii. 5 - 8); a citation from Psalm viii., where Christ, as 
man, is fully set forth as the great antitype of the first Adam. 
Thus Jesus declared that authority was given to him to execute 
judgment also, because he was the Son of man (John v. 27). 
And Paul affirms that God had given to him (on account of his 
obedience and humiliation in the flesh) a name, which is above 



148 THE CRISIS. 

every name; that at the name of Jesus, every knee should: bow, 
of things in heaven and things in earth" (Philippians ii. 9 - 11). 
He who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, must have 
previously possessed that sovereignty of the universe which has 
been mentioned. But this kingdom is the reward of the righteous 
obedience and humiliation of the Christ; in consequence of which, 
the Father hath determined for a while to make manifest his own 
glory in him, and to put all things under him, He only being 
excepted who thus puts all under him (I. Cor. xv. 27, 28). 

A more common notion in regard to the kingdom, is, that it 
was set up at the birth of Jesus; for indeed it is written, Where 
is he that is born king of the jews ? Something may be con- 
ceded to this opinion; for indeed he was born king, and the 
only one that ever was or ever will be born king : in the true 
sense of the term, he is King Jesus. Something, also, in regard 
to that gospel and means of grace so soon afterwards provided, 
which is called by divines the kingdom of grace. But surely 
if the acknowledgment of authority, and if obedience to authority, 
be essential to the honour and reality of dominion, the kingdom 
was not set up then. Who can name the nation which acknow- 
ledged the Lord as king, at the time of his first appearing ? 
Even the jews did not acknowledge him. He came to his own, 
but his own received him not : they declared that they would 
not have this man to rule over them; and insisting that they had 
no king but Caesar, they crucified the Lord of glory. But when 
Christ's kingdom shall be set up, it shall be of such a character 
as that none can mistake that the Lord is ruler in it : his glory 
shall be openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. But Isaiah 
xlix. 7, and lxiii. 19, testifies of the adversaries of the Lord, 
"Thou never barest rule over them; they were not called by 
thy name"; and of the Lord he says, in respect to his first ad- 
vent, " That he is to be a servant of rulers." Our Lord himself 
spake a parable, because some thought that the kingdom of God 
was immediately to appear, in which he compares himself to a 
man who had first to go into a far country; to which I only add, 
that the very prayer which he taught his disciples proves that the 
kingdom was then future, for he directs them to pray, " Thy 
kingdom come." This kingdom has been the subject of promise 
ever since the Saviour's first advent; and it will most assuredly 
be fully accomplished, sooner or later, in the most literal ac- 
ceptation of the term. 

The parable just adverted to, might be sufficient to prove that 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 149 

the kingdom did not commence immediately after the ascension 
of Christ, which many do nevertheless suppose; and likewise 
that the saints do now enjoy the kingdom, and reign with him. 
" Would to God (saith the apostle) that ye did reign, that we 
also might reign with you" (I. Cor. iv. 8). 

It may here be necessary to consider the present condition 
<of our Lord Jesus. We fully believe that he is now glorified; 
that he is seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high; that 
the principalities and powers in heavenly places are subject to 
him, and that he reigns as the Mediator, Advocate and Saviour 
of his people. But I must still insist that this is not that glory, 
nor that reign which are the special subjects of promise both to 
him and his saints, if those passages in Rev. v. 10, and vi. 
9 - 11, refer to the state of the redeemed church in heaven; for 
it is most manifest that theirs is a state of expectation, in which 
they look for the time when they shall reign, and therefore that 
they are not now reigning with their Lord and Christ. Their 
condition as regards the promised kingdom is also one of ex- 
pectation; for he waits for the time when his enemies shall be- 
come his footstool, and it shall be said, " Rule thou in the midst 
of thine enemies" (Heb. x. 13). 

I must return again to the statement, that the reign of Christ, 
with his saints, must be of an acknowledged and manifest cha- 
racter; and I would ask, In what part of the globe is that the 
case now ? By far the largest part of the world is still heathen 
in name; and over that part, even, which surnames itself with 
^he name of Christ, He can not be said to bare rule. Even in 
this country, where religion prevails perhaps as much as in any 
other, our laws are rarely framed and administered in fear of 
Christ; to say nothing of the great majority of individuals who 
live in disobedience, who openly deny his divinity, his power, 
his authority, his laws, his people. It is derogatory to the Lord 
Jesus to call this his dominion over the nations. 

I will state a case that goes far to confirm the above, in re- 
gard to the character of our laws and of our law-makers. It will 
be remembered that the law of the land in regard to the system 
of slavery, makes a man, a human being, an article of traffic, 
of goods and chattels, to be bought and sold. Very recently a 
high public functionary, who for many years has had almost 
unbounded influence in the national councils, declared as follows, 
on the floor of the national legislature, in regard to the law of 



150 



THE CRISIS. 



the land which makes man property : He first puts the question 
in regard to slavery, What is property ? and then answers it 
by saying, Just what the law makes property. Then he goes 
on with his calculations, and declares that those human beings 
held as property in this country are worth to their owners no 
less than twelve hundred millions of dollars, which must be paid 
to their owners before they could be released from bondage. 
And this principle is on the increase in this so called christian 
land; in war, in aggression, for conquest, for the purpose of 
extending and perpetuating the system of slavery ! 

I have said, it is derogatory to the Lord Jesus to call this 
his dominion over the nations. There is no king among men, 
but would deem it quite incompatible with his honour to allow 
any to despise his laws, or to live in habitual rebellion; and 
shall the man who is made God's fellow, shall the King of kings 
and Lord of lords, only rule over a few, who are despised and 
persecuted for their obedience ? No : when he takes up his iron 
rod, he will dash his enemies to atoms as a potter's vessel; then 
he shall have the greatness of the kingdom under the whole 
heaven (Dan. vii. 27). Then all kings shall fall down before 
him, and all nations shall serve him (Psalm lxxii. ] 1). All the 
ends of the. world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and 
all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him (Psalm 
xxii. 27). " As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to 
me, and every tongue shall confess to God" (Isaiah xlv. 23; 
Rom. xiv. 11). 

We have further evidence that the period of the manifesta- 
tion of this kingdom is yet future, by a comparison of a passage 
in I. Corinthians with one in Hebrews : in the former, it is de- 
clared of Christ that all things shall be put under him (I. Cor. xv. 
27); in the latter, the apostle says that we see not yet all things 
put under him (Heb. ii. 8), whence we must conclude that his 
kingdom is not yet come. In another part of the same chapter, 
he says that flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God 
(verse 50 -53). 

There are other scriptures tending to show that the kingdom 
did not commence at the ascension; for in the very hour of his 
ascension, Christ was asked by his disciples, if he would at that 
time restore the kingdom to Israel; and his reply plainly leads 
to the inference that it was not to commence at that period, but 
that Lhey were to be witnesses of him to the uttermost parts of the 



SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 151 

earth (Acts i. 6 - 9); just as in another place he declares that 
the gospel of the kingdom must first be preached in all nations, 
for a testimony unto them (Math. xxiv. 14). The apostle exhorts 
them to walk worthy of God, who had called them to his king- 
dom and glory; and to walk so as that they might be accounted 
worthy of the kingdom of God, for which they suffered (I. Thess. 
ii. 12; II. Thess. i. 5). And James speaks of believers as being 
heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love 
him (James ii. 5). All which passages imply at least that the 
kingdom was yet future, when they were ministering. And, 
finally, the words of Jesus to Pilate completely sets this at rest : 
" My kingdom is not of this world" (John xviii. 36). 

Satan is the prince of this world, and has a kingdom in it at 
variance with our Lord's (Luke xi. 18; John xiv. 30); which 
kingdom is now set up, and must be judged of, not by the re- 
spective power of the princes of each kingdom, but by the prin- 
ciples of each. No doubt will then remain that Satan still rules. 
We know, however, that there is one stronger than the strong 
man armed, who could at any time put out his power to bruise 
his adversary under his feet; and even now he proves himself 
greater in the hearts of his people, than he that is in the world : 
yea, when he was on earth, he gave some striking and open in- 
dications of his future kingly power; as when he cleansed the 
temple, ruled the elements, forbade the devils to speak, etc. 
Nevertheless the time is not yet arrived, when this kingdom is 
to shine forth in splendour. We have still to wrestle against not 
only flesh and blood, but against principalities, against power, 
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual 
wickedness in high places. " Wherefore, reader, take unto you 
the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in 
the evil day, and, having done all, to stand" (Eph. vi. 12, 13). 

I would observe here, by way of note, in regard to the de- 
claration of Jesus to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world" — 
not observing the special qualification there is in the passage, 
our opponents consider it to be subversive of our doctrine of the 
millennium and the personal advent of the Lord Jesus. The text 
is John xviii. 36 : " Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this 
world : if my kingdom were of this world, then would my ser- 
vants fight, that I should not be delivered to the jews; but now 
is my kingdom not fromhence." 



152 THE CRISIS. 

Now let us compare scripture with scripture. The same apostle 
says, in Rev. xi. 15, " And the seventh angel sounded, and there 
were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world 
are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he 
shall reign for ever and ever." And is the declaration in the 
latter passage, that Christ's kingdom is of this world, any less 
explicit than in the former, that it is not of this world ? The 
qualification I have reference to, is the word now, is my king- 
dom, etc. This subject is more fully set forth in my closing par! 
of the millennium doctrine. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE FUTURE GLORY OF THE 
CHURCH* 

It is impossible to survey the events of the past, and prospects 
of the future, without being struck by the gradual manner in 
which the work of redemption will have realized its hopes to 
man. Neither circumscribed in wisdom nor limited in power, 
nor bounded in benevolence; yet how slowly has God effected 
the purposes of his grace to mankind ! 

Whatever reasons may sway his infinite mind in this dis- 
pensation of his mercy, I seem at least to trace, throughout the 
entangled line of events, one simple and great design, the ex- 
hibition of character, the exhibition of the attributes of God, and 
)f the weakness and apostacy of man. " I the Lord change not; 
herefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." This child is set 
"or the fall and rising again of many in Israel, that the thoughts 
)f many hearts may be revealed; for the gospel is a savour of 
ife unto life, or of death unto death. 

What, let it be asked, is the complexion of human history ? 
treated upright, man could not maintain his allegiance against 
;he snares of pride and sensuality. Driven from paradise a fugi- 
tive and a criminal, he makes no effort to retrace his steps : he 
manifests neither repentance nor shame. Under his agency, the 
world becomes a moral wilderness, a scene of strife, violence 
ind blood. A resistless deluge sweeps away the impenitent mil- 
lions to a common grave. The earth is repeopled, but its prin- 
ciples remain unchanged : repentance is no feature of human 
character. Neither the gathering tempest, nor the bright arch of 
promise, are effective to intimidate or allure. A single nation is 
selected to be the high guardian of better hopes to mankind : a 
:heocracy is its government; miracles are its bulwarks, and the 
yoice of eternal wisdom the oracle of its counsels. Amidst these 
id vantages, the human character developed is that of pride, op- 
pression, licentiousness and blood. Godliness is despised; its 
10* 



154 THE CRISIS. 

ministers are persecuted, and the senseless idol preferred to the 
living God . Captivity and chains plead his righteous cause, but 
the stern accents are unheard, resisted and despised. At length 
the predicted Ruler visits his expecting land : his humility dis- 
appoints their ambition ; his purity disgusts their depravity : they 
shed his blood; and, in severe displeasure, they are scattered to 
the four winds of heaven. During successive ages of exile and 
misery and scorn, they retain their obduracy : they refuse to 
learn wisdom. Meantime the church is transferred to the gentile 
nations; the paganism of Rome yields to christian truth, and the 
infamy of Israel is the theme of christian lips. Years roll away, 
and the apostacy of Christendom becomes more fearful than that 
of Jerusalem. At length the dire confederacy of sin is dissolved: 
the Saviour comes to reign, where once he came to suffer; the 
Spirit is poured from on high; Satan is driven from the earth, 
but human nature receives no moral change from time or privi- 
lege or place. The power of Messiah terminates the conflict, and 
the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover 
the seas, and presents at length a tranquillized world to God^ 
What, I ask, is this series of events, but accumulative attestations 
to human weakness, apostacy, and crime? What is this history, 
but the development of human character under successive con- 
ditions of moral advantages, each succeeding condition more 
favorable to virtue and happiness than the last ? But in no con- 
dition does man maintain his allegiance, or repose his heart upon 
God. 

On the other hand, What is this history on the part of God ? 
Patience, forbearance, compassion, justice, liberality, love, are 
inscribed in characters of flame upon each succeeding dispensa- 
tion. We still remark the Divine Benefactor educing good out 
of apparent evil, resolute to bless, and unwearied in his work of 
grace; exhibiting at the cross the transcendant munificence of 
love, and the untarnished purity of truth ; amidst contending 
multitudes of the guilty, bringing in a remnant according to the 
election of grace; educating them, by trials and mercies, to be 
the spotless bride in the day of the espousals of his incarnate 
Son; rendering them the hallowed instruments of mercy to man- 
kind; driving at length the usurper from his throne; and offering, 
under his Almighty Father, a world, submissive, redeemed, 
immortal, happy. 

What is the wondrous intention of all this intercourse of God 
with man? Say is it not to chain down the eyes of an adoring 



FUTURE GLORY OF THE CHURCH. 155 

universe to this great truth, now blazoned in imperishable cha- 
racters upon each successive evolution of human history, that 
virtue and happiness are gratuitous blessings; that obedience is 
the power of grace, and eternal life the gift of God through 
Jesus Christ? 

If the foregoing interpretations of scripture be according to 
the mind and will of God, it will follow that a very great error 
has been entertained in modern days as to the great winding up 
of the results of the gospel dispensation. The results, as I have 
remarked, are to be looked for in a new scene, to be presented 
to our view subsequently, to the second appearing of Christ with 
all his saints. I am aware that it is imagined that no change will 
take place in the world, different from that which may be effected 
by the silent progress of knowledge, and the ordinary influence 
of divine grace; and the ultimate allotment of happiness and 
misery will close the existence of the present earthly sphere. 

The view which has been unfolded in the foregoing pages is 
opposed to these expectations of the christian church, and will 
perhaps clash painfully with the prepossessions of many pious 
minds. This world has been so long to them a scene of degrada- 
tion and sin, a valley of bereavement and tears, that they have 
laboured to detach their best sympathies and affections from its 
localities ; and to associate all their eternal hopes with some 
distant and glorious abode, to which the term heaven continually 
directs their thoughts. 

I should grieve to disturb any habit of quiet and pleasant 
thought in any human being, if I did not deem such a habit 
unauthorised by the word of God, and therefore ultimately in- 
jurious to the best interests of truth and charity. 

The great calamity which Antichrist and his adherents have 
inflicted upon the world, is to have given to the traditions of men 
a higher practical authority than to the decisions of God ; and 
even in the protestant churches, the spirit of free inquiry into the 
import of revealed truth is sometimes suspected, and becomes 
the occasion of irritation and jealousy. The tyranny of public 
opinion can sometimes find applause, even amidst the strongest 
claims to the right of private judgment; and hence the humble 
effort to scrutinize the unfulfilled prophecies of revelation has 
met with a resistance, neither consistent with candour, nor 
friendly to the real interests of truth. I trust I have offered my 
views to the consideration of the christian reader with humility ; 
and I have not willingly attempted to put a meaning upon any- 



156 



THE CRISIS. 



words of scripture, which they will not in fairness allow; and I 
would still remember, in reference to the opinions of others, the 
remark of Locke, " He that attacks received opinions with any 
thing but fair arguments, may be justly suspected not to mean 
well, nor to be led by the love of truth; but the same may be 
said of him who so defends them. An error is not the better for 
being common; nor truth the worse for having lain neglected. " 
His following remark is melancholy, and yet I believe it to be 
just. "And if it were put to the vote any where in the world, I 
doubt, as things are managed, whether truth would have the 
majority ; at least whilst the authority of men, and not the truth 
of God, must be its measure." 

To mistake the meaning of God's word in any point, cannot, 
in the end, be favorable to our happiness. However agreeable 
may be the conjectures which we may have substituted for God's 
decision, his truth must ever be identical with our real welfare ■. 
The statement that heavenly happiness is a felicity to be enjoyed 
in a renovated earth, may clash with some violence against the 
favorite associations of our youth and our age; and yet, never- 
theless, it may be a truth connected with the highest manifesta- 
tions of the divine glory. 

Therefore with kindness and affection I would suggest to those 
who may be painfully affected by the idea of a restored rather 
than a destroyed world, the inquiry whether their repugnance 
may not be less spiritual than they are disposed to imagine it to 
be; and whether their notions of heaven may not, in a figurative 
sense, be in fact more earthly than the notions from which they 
shrink. Is this repugnance derived from views of the divine glory, 
or from views interwoven with many a cherished notion of their 
own happiness? And would the realization of the will of God on 
earth as in heaven, shock a disinterested zeal for his glory, or 
oppose the long-cherished expectation of meeting salvation in a 
region severed altogether from the sphere of this earth? Now if 
it can be shown that the honour of Christ may be connected with 
the removal of evil, rather than the demolition of the place on 
which it has been nurtured, would they cheerfully yield the 
theory on which their habits of thought have been formed ? Is 
not, besides, an attachment merely local, a depressing principle 
of human action? Ought it to compose a large part of our notions 
of eternal felicity? Is a bright and fair scene of eternal peace in 
some distant and unimagined world, the only legitimate notion 
of heaven? Is not godliness a higher principle than local aversion, 



FUTURE GLORY OF THE CHURCH. 157 

or local attachment ? Ought not our idea of heaven to be con- 
nected rather with the honour of God, with the manifestation of 
truth, with the service of Christ, with conformity to his will, with 
union to his person and cause? To be with him; to be made like 
him; to live in his full and eternal fellowship; to be employed 
in his work, never more to grieve his kind and pure spirit; to 
behold his glory; to attain the oneness for which he prayed, a 
oneness with himself and a oneness with his people; to mark his 
triumph in the destruction of natural and moral evil; to see the 
rich harvest of his soul, which he made an offering for sin, 
waving over a world once barren through sin, and accursed 
through rebellion and misrule; to witness the contrast between 
revolt and allegiance, between tears and death on the one hand, 
and joy and immortality on the other; to witness this contrast on 
one and the same theatre of action; to connect this victory with 
the wonders of immanent love; to mark the crown upon his 
head, who fought single-handed in this mysterious conflict; to. 
be ourselves associated in his conquest; to hear and to partake 
that accordant song of praise, in the presence of him to whom it 
refers, "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in 
his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and 
his Father, unto whom be glory and blessing and honour" : 1 
can we want a higher idea of heaven, or form a higher estimate 
of happiness and joy? Where is rest; where is peace; where is 
joy, if not in the presence of the Lamb, and upon the actual 
theatre of his sufferings and his triumph? Are not a bridal church 
and a renovated earth the full fruit of the travail of his soul, with 
which he will be satisfied? And if he be satisfied, say shall his 
ransomed saints repine? 

It is not a novel sentiment, that the mind is its own place; 
and surely it is a more spiritual idea, than to locate heaven of 
necessity in some distant and higher region ; higher, perhaps, 
only in our own imagination, and because removed from the 
scenery of earth. Should we not do well to consider heaven 
rather as a state of character and condition, than as a mere re- 
gion of enjoyment; as a condition of mind, than as a local se- 
paration from the material structure of the present world ? "In 
me ye shall have peace." If then the feet of Emanuel shall yet 
rest on the earth, shall we wish a loftier joy than there "to walk 
with him," and there to contemplate the manifestations of his 
grace in the renewal and felicity of a once disordered world ? 

The conviction has fastened strongly upon my mind, that the 



158 THE CRISIS. 

honour of our blessed Lord and Master is connected, in a pecu-^ 
liar manner, with this renovation of the earth. Here he endured 
shame, and here Satan has reigned; but the crown belongs to 
Christ, and the kingdom shall be his. To this fact all the prophe- 
cies of the Old Testament direct our views; and every delineation 
of happiness, which lies depicted upon the pages of the New 
Testament, borrows all its imager}', ■and derives all its locality, 
from the earth on which we dwell. Eveiy blessing indeed origin- 
ates with God, and is dependent upon a spiritual energy; but the 
scene in which it operates is this material world. These blessings 
concentrate their mighty influence to overthrow idolatry, super- 
stition, misrule, sin, and death : they are connected with the 
kingly power of Christ ; they assure us of his conquest, and 
invite the earth to rejoice before her God. The city, built of God, 
and anticipated by those who have died in faith, comes down 
from heaven, and expands its splendour upon the scenery of 
earth. The closing pages of Revelation replace, indeed, our 
exiled feet in the same paradise from which Adam had been 
driven forth a wanderer and a criminal. I would venture to ask 
with confidence, whether any other felicity than the unbroken 
dominion and blessed presence of Christ upon the earth be re- 
corded as a source of expectation amidst the prophetic pages of 
scripture ? 

I renew my request to the christian reader, to weigh well 
these subjects with impartiality, and to conduct every examina- 
tion in a spirit of humiliation and prayer. 

It may perhaps facilitate the apprehension of the foregoing 
statements, to connect them with the two following considerations : 

First, that the reign of Christ, and the risen saints, does by no 
means limit their abode to the surface of the earth over which 
they will be commissioned to rule. The scene presented to the 
eye of the servant of Elisha may recur to the mind in illustration 
of this idea : he beheld, in the regions of the air, chariots of 
fire and horses of fire. It may not be improbable that these re- 
gions, purified from the rebel host which now occupy them under 
the prince of the power of the air, will afford a local dwelling to 
the redeemed; and that from them they may descend, in fulfil- 
ment of the beneficent office assigned to them on the earth, either 
to mingle visibly or invisibly among those whose welfare and 
virtue they will rejoice to promote. 

Secondly, that although this earth, during the millennial 
period, and yet more gloriously after the final judgment of the 



FUTURE GLORY OF THE CHURCH. 159 

wicked, will be a scene of happiness and perfect order, it may 
not, however, be the only or exclusive region of the felicity of 
redeemed man. 

As the birthplace of the Son of David, the scene of his ago- 
nies, conquest and exaltation, we may suppose a special honour 
to be ever connected with it. Out of seeming weakness, the power 
of divine wisdom rises into its justest magnitude, and into its 
highest strength. This world, a diminutive portion of the vast 
creation, will have afforded to angels and to archangels the loftiest 
displays of the attributes of God : the Cross of Calvary is per- 
haps the highest throne of Jehovah's glory. 
i. This world, limited then as it is in its material dimensions, 
may yet be a structure peculiarly dear to beings more exalted 
than its own inhabitants. Shall such a scene, rescued from the 
assaults of evil, adorned with new beauty, the birthplace of the 
Redeemer, the radiant theatre of his beneficent forbearance, 
compassion and grace, be blotted from existence, and draw forth 
by its fall a shout of malignant joy, if even malignant joy can be 
felt in the regions of despair? Do the ever-living oracles of God 
announce its fatal hour of doom? Other accents, I confess, seem 
to rest upon my listening ear, when, addressed by those voices 
of wisdom and of truth, they seem to tell me, "There shall be 
no more curse : the Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice. Sing 
and rejoice, daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will 
dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations 
shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people; 
and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that 
the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee; and the Lord shall 
inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose 
Jerusalem again" (Zechariah ii. 10 - 13). 

But is it necessary to circumscribe the exercise of human 
power and bliss in its glorified condition, to this earth, fair and 
beautiful as it will then become? May not the glorified saints 
range with happy eagerness through unnumbered regions of 
tranquillity and joy ? Says Christ, " It is the Father's good 
pleasure to give you the kingdom; and (John xiv. 2, 3) in my 
Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would 
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and 
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you 
unto myself, that where I am, there may ye be also." " Then 
we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with 
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we 
ever be with the Lord " (I. Thessalonians iv. 17). 



160 THE CRISIS. 

The 45th Psalm relates to the second advent : the Bridegroom 
is the Conquering;, not the Suffering Messiah; the marriage is 
celebrated after his victories, and the bride is the Church Ca- 
tholic. The sixth verse is addressed to him at his second advent: 
"Thy throne, God, is for ever and ever : the sceptre of thy 
kingdom is a right sceptre. Our God shall come, and shall not 
keep silence. Gather my saints together unto me, those that have 
made a covenant with me by sacrifice; and the heavens shall 
declare his righteousness, for God is judge himself." 

The 72d Psalm is a beautiful delineation of his kingly power, 
and his peaceful sovereignty over the earth. " He shall have 
dominion from sea to sea. All kings shall fall down before him : 
all nations shall serve him ; and blessed be his glorious name for 
ever, and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and 
amen ! " 

Psalm xciii. : "The Lord reigneth : the world is established 
that it cannot be removed." 

Psalms xcvi., xcvii., xcviii., xcix. &c, are all descriptive of 
one and the same subject, the victorious coming of the Son of 
man. " The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord of 
the whole earth : the heavens declare his righteousness, and all 
the people see his glory" (xcvii.). " sing unto the Lord a new 
song, for he hath done marvellous things : his right hand and his 
holy arm hath gotten him the victory" (xcviii.). "Let the floods 
clap their hands : let the hills be joyful together before the Lord; 
for he cometh to judge the earth with righteousness, and the 
people with equity" (xcix.). " Yet have I set my king upon my 
holy hill of Zion. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen 
for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy 
possession" (Psalm ii. 6-8). 

Now I would with diffidence, and yet with some assurance, 
ask the candid christian, whether the foregoing sketch of the 
future glory of the Church Triumphant, with Messiah as the King 
of kings and Lord of lords, exercising absolute and unlimited 
sovereignty over the whole earth as the God-man; will not this 
be the period when the full and complete answer will be given 
to Christ's petition to his Father, in the 17th chapter of John, as 
well for himself as for his disciples, especially the fifth verse, 
"And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with 
the glory which I had with thee before the world was"? In this 
petition of Christ to his Heavenly Father, is a height and depth, 
a length and breadth, which, I apprehend, is very imperfectly 



FUTURE GLORY OF THE CHURCH. 161 

understood or comprehended. The comprehensive prayer reaches 
forward from the first promise that the seed of the woman shall 
bruise the serpent's head, to the final consummation of all things: 
in winch is comprehended the binding of Satan, the first resur- 
rection, the reign of the martyrs or church triumphant, the per- 
sonal appearance of Christ, his visible manifestation when he 
shall be exalted to his throne of glory — " Behold, he cometh 
with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all." 
It is a part of the kingly office of Christ to destroy the works of 
the devil, to restore all things to their primitive purity; being 
the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning 
star, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of 
the earth. " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins 
in his own blood. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye 
shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all the 
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." Now I ap- 
prehend that the bitterest ingredient in the cup of the reprobate, 
will be that of beholding the exaltation and glory of King Jesus, 
and the felicity and happiness of the saints; for you will notice 
that every eye sees him. Then will all the reproach, the scorn, 
and contempt cast upon him, with its 2000 years accumulation, 
be swept away, and the pure holy spotless character of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, the God-man, appear in its true light. The whole of 
the 17th chapter of John, from the first to the twenty-fourth 
verse, will be completely accomplished (Matthew xxv., xxxiv., 
xxxix.; Revelation i. 7, and xx. 4, 5, 6). 

To those who may read this tract, I would say, Ponder well 
tins subject, and be ye also ready; for the Son of man cometh 
En an hour that ye are not aware of. 



11 



CHAPTER XX. 



THE JUDGMENT AT CHRIST'S SECOND ADVENT IS NOT 
THE LAST FINAL JUDGMENT, AS IT IS CALLED BY 
MANY. 

The doctrine of scripture, which sets forth Christ as coming to 
judge the world at his second advent, is not, as is generally 
believed by most perons, that of a great assize, at which the 
Lord Jesus will preside, and all mankind be put upon their trial; 
but the characteristics of a judge, as given in scripture, are as 
follows : To rule and govern as a king ; to deliver and to 
avenge his people, and to protect and defend them from their 
enemies. Wherefore it follows, that the judgment of Christ must 
consist, not only in vengeance and punishment, but also in go- 
vernment and rule; and that the Lord must consequently act the 
king, in this his character of judge. 

In proof of this, we point to those, who, in ancient times, 
were raised up by the Lord, and made judges over Israel; as 
Gideon, Samson, Jephtha, and others in this character : they 
Were all of them types of the Lord Jesus, the Great Judge. The 
chief prophecies which relate to Christ as a judge, and to the 
judgment he will execute, will farther demonstrate that princely 
rule and government are to be the special characteristics of his 
judgment, and that it will be a continued office among or over 
the nations. A few passages will serve to place this matter, it is 
hoped, in a clear point of view. 

" Give the king thy judgments, God, and thy righteousness 
to the king's son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, 
and thy poor with judgments. The mountains shall bring peace 
to the people, and the little hills by righteousness; for he shall 
judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the 
needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor" (Psalm Ixxii. 
1-4). Here the parties whom it is said he shall principally 
judge with judgments, are the poor and needy, the very persons 
to whom the Lord declares, in so many places, he will look with 



JUDGMENT AT THE SECOND ADVENT. 163 

mercy, and whose Saviour it is his glory especially to be called. 
The notion of their being visited with judgments in the way of 
wrath, is therefore excluded : his judgments are to save them 
from oppressors, and then to govern them in righteousness, 
though they will even have to stand before his judgment seat, 
and give account of themselves to God. 

The following sentences from the Psalms are nearly of a simi- 
lar character, one with the other : " Arise, God ! judge the 
earth; for thou shalt inherit all nations" (Psa. lxxxii. 8). For 
he (the Lord) cometh; for he cometh to judge the earth : he 
shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his 
truth" (Psa. xcvi. 13). " For the Lord cometh to judge the 
earth : with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the peo- 
ple with equity" (Psa. xcviii. 9). " He shall judge the world in 
righteousness : he shall minister judgment to the people in up- 
rightness" (Psa. ix. 8). " let the nations be glad, and sing 
for joy; for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern 
the nations upon earth" (Psa. Ixvii. 4). 

In these passages is unanimously declared a righteous govern- 
ment upon earth : it is over the nations (or peoples, the original 
being plural) that it is to be ministered. This implies that they 
will be existing as nations at the time when the judgment shall 
be exercised among them; and their being called upon to re- 
joice, shows that it will prove a blessing to them, and not, as is 
commonly supposed, a punishment. 

In some of these sentences, the latter clauses point out what 
the nature of the judgment is to be. For example, in Psa. lxxxii. 
to judge the earth, is explained by inheriting all nations; in Psa. 
ix. to judge the world in righteousness, is to administer judgment 
to the peoples; Psa. Ixvii. to judge the peoples (again plural), is 
to govern the nations (or gentiles) upon earth. 

These things are made still more plain by other prophets. 
Both Micah and Isaiah declare of him, that " He shall judge 
among many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off" (Mic. 
iv. 3; Isaiah ii. 4). And the fact which immediately follows in 
both prophets, that they are to beat their swords into plough- 
shares and their spears into pruning-hooks, and not learn war 
any more, whilst it proves the continuation of his judgment, and 
that it is in or on the earth, manifests likewise the peaceful bles- 
sings that accompany his judgment. Jeremiah also declares 
(xxiii. 5), " Behold, a king shall reign and prosper, and shall 
execute judgment and justice in the earth." The whole of the 



164 THE CRISIS. 

testimony brought forward to prove that the judgment of Chrisfe 
is principally his reigning upon the earth, first delivering his. 
people from their enemies, then ruling them, and likewise the 
nations with holy statutes or judgments, may be summed up in 
one passage, to wit, Isaiah xxiii. 22 : " The Lord is our judge; 
the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our king : he will save 
us." 

Another point connected with this subject, and which will 
farther tend to clear and prove the view here taken, is the 
participation of the saints in the judgment spoken of; for if the 
judge of Israel, and the king of Israel, are in the person of 
Christ one and the same office, it follows that those who are to 
be kings and priests with him, and who are to sit on his throne, 
are in like manner judges; and the scriptures will speak of their 
rule in the same manner that they speak of Christ's rule, as be- 
ing a judgment; and there is abundant evidence to this point. 

First, Enoch prophesied : " Behold, the Lord cometh with my- 
riads of his saints, to execute judgment upon all" (Jude 14, 15). 
David says, that to execute the judgments written, is an honour 
which all the saints are to have (Ps. cxlix. 5-9). In the vision 
of Daniel, he saw the thrones placed down, and judgment was 
given to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the 
saints possessed the kingdom (chapter to.). Paul declares expli- 
citly that the saints shall judge the world (I. Cor. vi. 2, 3). Al- 
though some have asserted that the word saints, In these and 
similar passages, signifies the holy and elect angels who are to 
attend Christ when he comes to sit Upon the throne of his glory, 
this is quite inconsistent with scripture in other places — " Know 
ye not," saith the apostle, " that the saints shall judge the 
world ?" (I. Cor. vi. 2). And the context shews us whom he 
means by the saints ; for he adds, " And if the world shall be 
judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters ?" 
Yea, he goes farther, and adds, " Know ye not that ye shall 
judge angels ?" Thus showing, that instead of the saints who 
come with Christ to rule, and who have judgment given them, 
being the angels, the angels themselves are the subjects of that 
judgment; for as Christ our head is exalted above the thrones 
and principalities and powers in heavenly places (Ephe. i. 
20-23), so must the members of Christ necessarily be like- 
wise, unless there be a schism in the body when glorified. But,, 
no; we are again assured that we are heirs. of Gtd, and joint 



JUDGMENT AT THE SECOND ADVENT. 165 

lieirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may 
be also glorified together (Rom. viii. 17). 

It may be farther shown from Matt. xix. 28, that the saints 
who are to judge are not angels; for then the Lord promises to 
his apostles in particular, that in the regeneration, when the Son 
of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, " Ye also shall sit upon 
twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Indeed, the 
angels are declared to be ministering spirits, sent forth to minis- 
ter to those who are the heirs of salvation (Heb. i. 14). 

The passage in I. Cor. vi. 23, is so convincing as to the par- 
ticipation of the saints in the judgment, that most commentators 
admit that the saints will, in some way or other, be joined with 
Christ in the judgment; but in what way, if the judgment is to 
be nothing more than a kind of trial in which rewards and punish- 
ments are to be determined by the Lord ? The saints themselves, 
as before stated, will have to stand before the judgment of Christ, 
and give account of the deeds done in the body; and the secrets 
of all hearts shall be revealed, and every one shall be rewarded 
according to his works (Rom. xiv. 10 - 12; II. Cor. v. 10). 

It is considered by some, that the saints, being first tried and 
acquitted, will then take their seat on the bench, as it were, and 
become assessors in the judgment over the wicked. It is humbly 
•conceived, however, that if those of such opinion would but fol- 
low out their hypothesis to the consequences to which it leads, 
they would at once be convinced of its absurdity ; for how shall 
the saints be assessors at the trial of the wicked ? Is it for them 
to determine the innocence or guilt of the parties; or is it for them 
to award the punishment ? Surely Christ needs neither counsel 
nor advice in the matter; nor would it be in the power of the 
saints, at this juncture, to give it. To suppose them to be asso- 
ciated in this transaction, is nothing less than circumscribing or 
limiting the divinity of Christ, and dishonouring the God-man, as 
though he were incompetent for the great work assigned him 
by the Father; but if we understand the judgment to include 
rule and authority to be delegated to the saints in the kingdom 
of Christ, then these things are perfectly reconcileable. Nor can 
a consistent exposition be given of Luke xix. 17 - 19, in which 
one is declared to have rule over ten cities, and another over five, 
but upon the principle of interpretation here advanced. 

Little need be said to prove that a judgment of this descrip- 
tion has never yet appeared among the nations. The history of 
mankind is little else than a history of despotism, tyranny and 



166 THE CRISIS. 

oppression on the one hand, and often met by sedition and re- 
bellion on the other hand. Those possessing 1 power have con- 
stantly abused it for selfish and ambitious ends; and those who 
have clamoured most against the abuse of power, have, when 
possessed of it, shewn themselves incapable of ruling in righteous- 
ness. A David may at times have risen up, and exhibited for a 
brief space, and within a limited sphere, something like a feeble 
type of the King of righteousness; but the effects of abused 
power, when lodged in the hands of apostate man, have caused 
those who believed in God to cry, " Arise, God ! judge the 
earth; for thou shalt inherit all nations" (Ps. Ixxxii. 8). 

That the reign of righteousness has not yet commenced, we 
have the express testimony of our Lord, so far as the office of 
judge is concerned (John vi. 15, and viii. 3; Luke xii. 14). 
And if the Son of man came not at this time to be ministered 
unto, but to give his life a ransom for many, still less is this the 
period when those who are chosen by him expressly to be minis- 
ters are appointed judges over the world. They are indeed able 
to be judges among each other, and in I. Cor. vi. 1—3, are re- 
buked for not judging their own matters; but in regard to that 
judgment which is the subject of promise to them, the Lord 
warns them, " Ye know that they which are accounted to rule 
over the gentiles, 5 ' etc. (Mark x. 42). And the context in this 
place will serve to fix the meaning of Luke xxii. 29, 30. Christ, 
after he had put an end to the request of the sons of Zebedee, 
by saying that he was among them as one that serveth, so they 
were now not to look to be greater than their Lord, but were to 
be first made partakers of his sufferings; he then encourages 
them with a promise in regard to the future, that as they were 
now to be with and to suffer with him in his temptations, so they 
were hereafter to have authority and glory; for, saith he, " I 
appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 
me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and 
sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." This place 
is, by those who spiritualize, or rather allegorize the scriptures, 
interpreted as referring to the authority which the apostles should 
exercise in the church, which, they say, being the spiritual 
Israel, is therefore the twelve tribes; and the eating and drinking 
at the Lord's table, is explained of the administration of the 
sacrament of the Lord's supper. But how clearly the context 
disproves this ! Both in Mark and Luke, their great ones exer- 
cise authority upon them; but, says Christ, " So shall it not be 



JUDGMENT AT THE SECOND ADVENT. 167 

among you." But, surely, to sit on thrones judging the twelve 
tribes, would be exercising lordship among each other, contrary 
to our Lord's direction. So the kingdom appointed, in which 
they are to be elevated to thrones, is evidently to follow the 
time of temptation; for only "if we suffer with him, we shall 
reign with him" (II. Tim. ii. 12). Therefore to place them 
upon thrones during the time of their tribulation and temptation, 
is quite irreconcileable with all that the scripture says on the 
kingdom. The apostle Paul did not account thus; for he writes, 
" We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for your 
patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that 
ye endure, which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment 
of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, 
for which ye also suffer" (II. Thess. i. 4, 5). ! what a pain- 
ful heart-sickening reflection, if we look at Ihe present state of 
the church, and put the question, Who suffers now for Christ 
and his cause in the world ? Where is it visible, either in the 
church or among professors ? The true answer, it is believed, 
would be, that there is no species of idolatry mentioned in the 
scriptures that has not the ascendancy in the sacrifices and suf- 
ferings at present. 

Well would it be for the ministers of the Lord in particular, 
if they would bear more continually in mind that they are now 
to be servants, and not rulers. There is a great proneness in 
many good men to carry themselves as lords, rather than minis- 
ters, in the heritage of Christ; and to assume authority even in 
the world. But we must prophesy in sackcloth, and patiently 
wait for the blessed time, when, " Behold, a king shall reign in 
righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment" (Isaiah xxxii. 
1); when God will make officers in his kingdom peace, and his 
exactors righteousness; when violence shall no more be heard 
in their land, wasting nor destruction within their borders (Isaiah 
lx. 17, 18). 

There is yet another important feature of the judgment, and 
that is the vengeance of the Lord upon his own and his people's 
enemies; for all this, and the gathering out of his kingdom every 
thing that offends and does iniquity, in my view of it, is included 
in the judgment; so that the period of judgment must necessa- 
rily comprehend those tremendous visitations or vials of wrath 
which precede the millennium, the whole time of the saints' rule 
on earth, and that final visitation of the wicked which occurs at 
the expiration of the millennium. This is the time of gentile as- 



168 THE CRISIS. 

cendancy and domination; that, the period of Israel's dominion : 
this is the day of depression, and of tribulation among the saints; 
that is to be the period of their supremacy and triumph. 

One objection against the view I have taken as to the day of 
judgment, is that the judgment is called in scripture the day of 
the Lord, that great day, and even the hour of his judg- 
ment ; which are considered incompatible with its duration 
through upwards of a thousand years. Now that period when 
plague, pestilence, famine, the sword and fire shall fall upon 
the ungodly, may be with propriety distinguished as that great 
day, the dark and cloudy day; seeing it is to put an effectual 
check to the ungodly tyranny of man, and to usher in a glorious 
period of righteousness and peace. 

The expressions day and hour, have not that limited meaning 
in the scriptures, that is often attempted to be put upon them : 
they are used in the restricted sense at times, but this is readily 
determined by the context. Thus in Gen. ii. 4, the whole pe- 
riod of creation is called a day. The forty days in the wilder- 
ness is called the day of temptation (Psa. xcv.); and the pe- 
riod of the divine mercy under the gospel, is called the day of 
salvation. 

One farther remark in regard to the judgment : That if the 
seven vials, in which is filled up the wrath of God, are a portion 
of that judgment, then the description of one of them plainly in- 
dicates that it can not take place in a period of twenty-four 
hours; for under the sixth vial, the Euphrates is dried up, that the 
way of the kings of the east may be prepared; and three unclean 
spirits are seen to go forth from out of the mouths of the dragon 
and beast and false prophet, to the kings of the earth and of the 
whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great 
day of God Almighty (Rev. xvi. 12 - 14). Now without any 
particular interpretation of the Euphrates, will it be contended 
by any, that the armies of the kings of the whole world may be 
gathered together in a day of twenty-four hours, to say nothing 
of the previous work of preparation here said to be effected by 
these spirits of devils working miracles ? 

I will now introduce some of the more striking passages of 
scripture, which relate to the vengeance or wrath so frequently 
made mention of as forming part of the great judgment. 

Isaiah xxxiv. commences by solemnly inviting the attention of 
all flesh : "Come near, ye nations, to hear, and hearken ye 
people : let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, 



JUDGMENT AT THE SECOND ADVENT. 169 

and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the 
Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies : he 
hath utterly destroyed them; he hath delivered them to the 
slaughter; their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall 
come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted 
with their blood." Verse 5 continues, " Behold, it shall come 
down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse to judg- 
ment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood ; for the Lord 
hath a great sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the 
land of Idumea," etc. "Their land shall be soaked with blood, 
and their dust made fat with fatness; for it is the day of the 
Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the contro- 
versy of Zion." Then, after dwelling upon the manner in which 
the land shall be desolated, the prophecy bursts forth in the next 
chapter into a rapturous description of the way in which the 
earth shall afterwards be renewed for the righteous. 

In the preceding passage, it will be perceived that the judg- 
ment therein spoken of falls on Idumea or Edom, of which Boz- 
rah was the capital. These names, with other characteristics of 
the prophecy, serve to identify and connect it with another 
prophecy in chapter lxiii. 1-5, which informs us also who is 
to be the great actor in the tribulation. " Who is this that cometh 
from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah; this that is glo- 
rious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength ?" 
Answer : "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." 
" Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments 
like him that treadeth the winefat?" Answer : " I have trodden 
the wine-press alone, and of the people there was none with me; 
for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my 
fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and 
I will stain all my raiment; for the day of vengeance is in mine 
heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." 

The church, at the present day, endeavour to apply all these 
prophecies to the Lord's first advent, from the words " The year 
of my redeemed is come." The prophecy shews, however, that 
a very different event must be intended. He comes in his glori- 
ous apparel, and travels in the greatness of his strength; whereas 
at his first advent there was no beauty in him, and in his travel 
his soul was poured out like water. He here treads the people 
in fury; there, he was trodden under foot of men : he here 
sprinkles his garments with their blood; there, his own blood 
was poured out unto death. Nothing can be more evident than 
11* 



170 THE CRISIS. 

that he is represented by the prophet as covered with the blood 
of his enemies, instead of his own. 

Rev. xiv. and xix. will identify with the above. Look at Eze- 
kiel xxxix., and Joel iii. 9 - 14, 17; Jeremiah xxv.; Psa. 
lxviii. 9- 11-5 Isaiah xvii. 12, 14, 15, 16, 24, and xli. 14-16, 
and xlvi. 15, 16; Jeremiah xxiii. 19. 20, and xxx. 23, 24; 
and Psa. cxlix. 

This subject might be continued much farther. We may have 
a carnal idolatrous millennium : indeed, we have it now through- 
out all Christendom; but we shall have no scriptural millennium, 
until those great events above noticed take place to usher it in- 



CHAPTER XXI. 



SCRIPTURAL ARGUMENTS FOR MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 

I will endeavour to vindicate the doctrine of the primitive- 
church on the subject of the millennial reign of Christ and his 
saints, against those objections of alleged previous improbability, 
which prevent an equitable treatment of the scriptural evidence. 
In no cause is the removal of such prejudices more necessary, 
than in this; and none more profitable, when effected. In order, 
however, to a clear perception and full appreciation of the evi- 
dence, not only must the mind be dispossessed of prejudices 
which render it hostile to the truth, but it is additionally requisite 
that it be positively occupied with principles which generate a 
disposition in its favour. This maxim our Lord has stated in 
reference to the reception of his religion, in these remarkable 
words : " Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" 
(Matt. v. 5). " Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; 
yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be; 
but the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves 
in the abundance of peace" (Psa. xxxvii. 10, 11). If any man 
willeth, or is willing, to do His will, he shall know of the doc- 
trine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 

1 will therefore state and illustrate a few principles, with which 
the mind must be thus pre-occupied, in order to perceive the just- 
ness of our conclusions; principles not entirely peculiar to a 
millenarian spirit indeed, though characteristic of it in a supe- 
rior degree. 

1. The first is nothing more than the rudimental principle of 
all religion, namely, the belief that this world is the property of 
God, and that he beholds with indignation the conduct of all 
who defile and abuse it. Now a comparatively slight acknowledg- 
ment of this will serve the purpose of the common faith, in which 
it is not until after many hundreds or thousands of years hence, 
that God is imagined as interfering in judgment. A God far off 
may suffice for such views; but our system demands, at every 



172 THE CRISIS. 

point, the belief of a God near at hand. We proclaim the gate of 
heaven already thrown open, and the Almighty coming out of 
his place to do a marvellous work among the children of men; 
that not long shall matters be permitted to proceed as they do 
at present; that the world is on the eve of being revolutionized 
to its centre, and so near, that some, if not many of the genera- 
tion now living may survive, to feel the shock of this earth when 
smitten by the sceptre of God. " Behold, the whirlwind of the 
Lord goeth forth with fury : a continuing whirlwind, it shall fall 
with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the 
Lord shall not return until he have done, and until he have per- 
formed the intents of his heart : in the latter days ye shall con- 
sider it. Now, therefore, be ye not mockers, lest your bands be 
made strong" (Jer. xxx.; Isaiah xxviii.). Now it is obvious, I 
believe, that many must hereafter feel this shock, if indeed they 
can not now see it so plainly represented in the word of God. 

Now, for the belief of all this, there is requisite a much 
stronger conviction of the presiding government of the Most 
High, than is common in the professedly religious community. 
The great multitude so think of Him, as if He concerned him- 
self but little, if at all, about the methods of government and 
trade; about the spirit of literature, or the tone of manners; but 
left all these things to statesmen and merchants, and men of 
learning and fashion, to dispose of them as they please; having 
no purpose to reckon with them, till what they call the end of 
time, when the world shall have in a manner died of itself 
through old age; and without His coming down in the midst of 
its career, to confound its institutions of crime, and sweep their 
apostate and rebellious upholders away in his wrath, and make 
all the administration of the earth his own. Among such cir- 
cumscribers of the sovereignty of God, if circumscribe they 
could, there is no hope of our cause succeeding. There is not in 
them any principle of reverence for Jehovah's godhead, to which 
we can appeal in our exposition of his word; and they must be 
delivered over, to learn the truth in that great day when the 
bursting forth of the gathered storm of his vengeance shall teach 
it them experimentally. But with men who do verily believe 
that the Creator is interested in the world, as his own world; 
interested in the whole of its management, that he may have out 
of it his lawful revenue of glory ; who believe that because of 
sin he once deluged it above the mountains, and who treat it as 
no fabulous tradition, but as sacred and authentic history, that 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 173 

he rained down a torrent of sulphurous fire on Sodom and Go- 
morrah; with those inquirers who devoutly believe that the 
Eternal is nationally an avenger of national sins, ever rebuking 
them in his anger as they again gather strength, we shall not 
despair of proselytes. So far as the approach of desolating judg- 
ments forms a part of our system, we shall refer them to abo- 
minations, to blasphemy, oppression and licentiousness, as im- 
pious, cruel, impure and abounding, perpetrated and poured 
forth in a torrent by all the nations on earth, as can ever have 
been those of the antediluvians, and deeply aggravated too 
through the abuse of superabundant mercies bestowed. And 
then we shall appeal to them, if they suppose that the Lord is 
less concerned about his glory, than he was in times of old; 
that he has relaxed in his holiness, and that his miracles of judg- 
ments are exhausted; or if it appear to them, that, after all the 
time during which Satan has had the princedom of evil-doers, his 
infernal misrule shall not be overthrown ? In this manner, we 
shall have them prepared for an honest treatment of the divine 
oracles, without any sceptical poetizing and evaporating of their 
proclamation into smoke, or erroneous and self-contradictory 
dating of their fulfilment, when the earth stands threatened with 
unutterable woe speedily to be inflicted. 

2. The next principle requisite for an appreciation of the 
millenarian exposition, is an enlarged view of the Redeemer's 
purchase and work. It is consolatory to find that there are now 
a considerable number who believe that Christ was substituted 
and died in room of the whole human race, in such a manner 
that the church, as the depository of the proclamation of mercy, 
is bound to go forth, and, in the name of her Lord, offer for ac- 
ceptance the redemption of our faith to all without exception. 
But it is not this idea of the extent of the object of his death and 
work, to which I at present refer. The views of many, so far as 
this point is concerned, are full and scriptural; while yet they 
have no capacity for receiving millennial doctrine, through 
limited views of the various particulars of the object of his re- 
demption, and in consequence of not reckoning that this re- 
demption is commensurate with the curse of the fall, and will 
take universal effect except where the obstinate unbelief of men 
renders their salvation as accountable beings a moral impossi- 
bility. The system demands (and no one need attempt to learn 
it who does not willingly concede the point), that the blood of 
Christ be reckoned not only as justly sufficient, but designed, for 



174 



THE CRISIS. 



the purchase of this earth and all that it contains; that, appointed 
to the office of destroying the work of the devil, he must meet 
him with restoration in every particular of destruction; that as 
the Second Adam, he has secured the right to the patriarchal 
rule of all the inhabitants of this globe, yea, even to the proprie- 
torship of its soil, its plants, and irrational tribes; that he holds 
the title of all in his hand, sealed with the seal of God; and that 
he shall come to put his right into such sovereign execution, that 
in looking back from eternity on the history of this world, there 
shall be nothing discernible, of which it can be said that the Son 
of man possessed it not. 

I have said enough for explaining how it is that larger views 
than are common respecting the extent of the Redeemer's pur- 
chase, are requisite for this study. 

3. In like manner, it demands more enlarged views of the 
agency of the Holy Ghost. Besides inculcating all that the sys- 
tem of our opponents embraces respecting operations on the 
soul of man, ours comprehends much of material restitution and 
transformation. Now, say many, as if it were a sufficient ob- 
jection to our views, the millennium shall be specially a dis- 
pensation of the Spirit; and they quote with an emphasis of 
conclusive argument, such scriptures as this : " Not by might, 
nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." Those who 
make such ojections, have need to be taught the very rudiments 
of theology : the difference between a work of the Spirit of God, 
and a work on the spirit of man. Know they not that the Holy 
Ghost works in various ways, being ever attendant on the Father 
and Son, as the executor of their purposes, whatever these pur- 
poses may be ? And accordingly have they not read that it was 
the Spirit who performed the material work of agitating into 
life the dead elements of the chaos; of garnishing the heavens; 
of incarnating our Lord; of curing the deaf, the dumb, the 
halt and blind; of magnifying the loaves and fishes for the 
hungry; and of raising Lazarus, yea our Lord himself from the 
grave ? Do they expect their own resurrection to be effected by 
any other power than that of the Holy Ghost; or do they expect 
a resurrection of the body at all ? I ask not this in the way of 
taunt, but in sober earnest. The pharisees were not more unbe- 
lieving in carnalizing all, than are many at the present day in 
spiritualizing all; and we must be zealous in declaring for God, 
that he is Lord of matter as well as of mind. 

4. The nobility of the christian church, is the fourth circum- 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 175 

stance which I shall notice as necessarily to be appreciated by 
those who would study this system successfully. Our prospect is, 
that this church, from her present state of contempt and de- 
pression, shall yet rise ascendant over every institution of man; 
to wield, under the guidance of her Lord, the sceptre of univer- 
sal empire. Now it is obvious that mere are few who have formed 
such an estimate of her excellence, as to perceive any fitness 
and propriety in her being thus exalted. I need not insist on the 
views which kings and nobles, and merchants and philosophers, 
take of the spiritual establishment of faith, and prayer, and con- 
trition of heart : they are ignorant of all but the politics, the 
science and poetry of the Bible. 

The most piteous and painful circumstance in the whole of the 
matter, is that many of the poor and humble ones of the eartli ap- 
parently allow that the great, the wealthy and the learned, are war- 
ranted in undervaluing them : they somewhat feel as if, being low- 
born and poor, the church of Christ is enough for them ; whereas, 
were they rich and of elevated birth, and versed in human learn- 
ing, a place might be needed for them in the courts of kings, 
and in the legislatures of nations. So they go a wondering after 
the great ones of this world, and are abashed in their presence. 
It is impossible that such persons can enter into our millenarian 
hopes, or even refrain from condemning us for our presump- 
tion; but with men of discernment, who can look through the 
veil of humiliation which is at present cast over the christian, 
and perceive what he truly is in grandeur and consequence; that 
however vulgar, poor and illiterate he be in the estimation of a 
carnal and infidel world, he is yet of royal birth, a prince in dis- 
guise, a brother of Christ, a son and an heir of God; and that 
placed by the side of an irreligious man, however high in rank 
or famed for learning, he is incomparably the more noble of the 
two, and the more worthy to be sought after for the honour and 
profit of his acquaintance. With men of devotional contempla- 
tion, we have lively hopes of the success of our instructions; 
who, having first raised their eyes to admire and adore the ma- 
jesty of the Redeemer as King of kings, will then survey the 
church in the character of his bride. How noble must she be, to 
whom the Son of God is related as a bridegroom : her prero- 
gatives are, in truth, divine. Who that discerns this in the 
church, shall wonder at our description of the magnificence of 
her prospects; that we should sing of her, the Lord shall come, 
and, to the confusion of all her scorners, acknowledge her his 



176 



THE CRISIS. 



own, and exalt her and magnify her above every human insti- 
tution; above all their schools and colleges, and parliaments and 
royal families, and place her by his side, on his throne, as his 
well beloved queen whom he delightelh to honour. 

Bethink yourself, reader, and try yourself by this test. A con- 
sciousness of nobility is characteristic of the discipleship of 
Christ. Look with pity on the ungodly man, however eminent he 
may otherwise be for station, learning and wealth. There is a 
mystery of greatness in God, and there is also a mystery in the 
saint whom he has redeemed. 

5. I observe, in the fifth place, that a conviction of God's 
having a peculiar favour for the Hebrew nation, is a necessary 
principle for pursuing millenarian study with success. There 
are many who associate nothing with the name of a jew, but 
avarice and knavery; and there are others who take credit to 
themselves for being exceedingly liberal, when they grant him 
toleration to be spiritually converted. From such persons we 
can expect no favour, but rather to be stigmatized and denounced 
as guilty of carnal judaizing. But with men who reflect what an 
object of divine favour Abraham must have been, when the Lord, 
looking down from heaven, could descry on all the earth none 
faithful but him; with men who have thoroughly examined the 
terms of that covenant which was sworn to him concerning his 
offspring, who have noted its renewal to Isaac and its confirma- 
tion to Jacob, who have traced its forthgoings in the redemption 
from Egypt, the recovery from Babylon, and their preservation 
till the present hour; in a word, who have pondered the apostolic 
doctrine that they are beloved for the fathers* sakes; with such 
men as these we doubt not we shall obtain credit, when we an- 
ticipate of Israel that he shall arise and break the strength of his 
persecutors, and, that when re-established in the land of his 
fathers, all your proud kingdoms shall be the tributaries of his 
national sceptre. " Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of 
Israel. I will help thee, saith the Lord, even thy Redeemer the 
Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp 
thrashing instrument having teeth : thou shalt thrash the moun- 
tains, and beat them small, and shalt carry them away, and the 
whirlwind shall scatter them; but thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, 
and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah xli. 14, 15, 
16). " For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of 
hosts, that I will break his yoke from off his neck, and will 
burst his bands, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 177 

Mm; but they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their 
king, whom I will raise up for them. He shall have dominion 
also from sea to sea, and from the rivers unto the ends of the 
earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, 
and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and 
the Isles shall bring presents : the kings of Seba and Sheba 
shall offer gifts; yea, all kings shall fall down before him, all 
nations shall serve him. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of 
Israel, who only doth wondrous things. " 

6. The last principle of which I shall take notice, as essential 
to the successful study of the millenarian scheme, is reverence of 
the Bible as the inspired testimony of God. There are many who 
are possessed of so much of this reverence for the scriptures, as 
implicitly to bow to their authority when they record the his- 
tory of past events, but who are yet lamentably deficient of it 
in the treatment of their predictions of what shall be in future; 
and hence can tamper most unwarrantably with the majesty of 
their expressions and descriptions, in an endeavour to resolve 
all their mystery into matters which human sagacity might have 
calculated would eventually happen. It is not among the demi- 
infidels of Germany alone that the neological spirit prevails : it 
is very prevalent throughout the protestant churches also; the" 
only difference being, that where the former naturalize away 
the divine testimony respecting the wonders done of old, the 
latter spiritualize it away respecting wonders yet to be per- 
formed. The true test of a man's reverence for the Bible, is the 
treatment he gives its prophecies. He might rationally believe 
in a miracle already wrought, on testimony merely human; but 
for dependance on what shall happen hereafter, he must have 
the testimony of God. Accordingly I am persuaded that expe- 
rience and observation will prove that a study and reception of 
unfulfilled prophecy, in its literal sense, has ever had the effect 
of increasing veneration for all scripture; whereas, the spiritu- 
alizing system has had the effect of undermining and diminishing 
that veneration athwart the whole of its contents. I must be 
allowed at least to declare my own experience : whatever be 
the subject, the expressions of inspiration, I now feel them to 
have greater force than I was formerly disposed to allow them. 

I have thus briefly stated some general principles of theology, 

which it is necessary to entertain, in order to an appreciation of 

the correctness of our interpretation. It may, however, be re- 

ouisite, before entering on the argument, that I make a few ob- 

12 



17S the crisis. 

serrations on tho source, the nature, and the degree of such 
evidence as it is proposed to adduce, as sufficient for establishing 
the truth of our system. 

1. In the first place, respecting the source of this evidence, 1 

observe, that it is to a great extent, though not exclusively, de- 
rived from tli*' NMitin^s of (he old Testament. It indicates great 

IgnoranCe to suppose that all our system is built on a chapter or 

two of the Revelation of the apostle John. There have been per- 
sons who, having made a most infidel attempt to disprove the 
canonical authority of thai hook, imagine they have done enough 
to silence us for over. No, foolish men; the task you have pre- 
scribed yourselves is not so soon finished, if the denial of tho 

inspiration and authenticity of the evidence we bring forward he, 

the forlorn hope of your opposition. Raving commenced with 
the Apocalypse, you must cancel largely in the Gospels, tho 
Acts, and the Epistles. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

Millennial Doctrine. 

Having commenced with the Apocalypse, you must cancel 
largely in the Gospels, the Acts and Epistles; but, particularly, 
having- turned to the Old Testament, there are but few chapters 
of its prophecy which you will leave undisfigured by your era- 
sures. Now when they find that it is not the Apocalypse alone, 
as they at first ignorantly imagined, on which we rest our belief, 
but that we make an extensive use of the writings of the Old 
Testament, What, they ask in surprise, have christians to do 
with that antiquated volume? It has been entirely superseded by 
the New. It may, indeed, be studied at a leisure hour, in a way 
of amusement or curiosity; but for valuable instructions, it is 
useless, except it be in arguing with the infidel, to prove that 
Jesus of Nazareth was predicted of old ; but at his ascension, its 
prophecy was exhausted, or at farthest at the Pentecost, or say 
the conversion of Cornelius, or perhaps the destruction of Je- 
rusalem, or at some other time which we are sure must have 
already elapsed; for who can endure the thought of any of the 
prophecies of the Old Testament remaining to be fulfilled in our 
own day ? Could the prophets ever foresee to such a distance ; 
and could an age so philosophic as ours permit a visitation of 
miracles? In opposition to such derogatory views of the Old 
Testament, we maintain that it continues the great standard of 
the revelation of God's will to the world; and that the principal 
light in which the New should be studied, is that it fall into the 
bosom of the Old, to illustrate but a part of it; while the Old, 
the original revelation, extends and stretches away beyond it, with 
its more ample testimony concerning the approaching re-erection 
and glory of the tabernacle of David. 

Let not our opponents say that we run into the extreme of 
error opposite to theirs, by derogating from the importance of 



180 THE CRISIS. 

the New Testament. Though we account it a part only of re- 
velation, yet it is the dearest and most interesting to our hearts; 
that part of the Old which it especially developes, being the 
sinner's ransom, the humiliation of his Lord, and the method of 
justification by faith in his obedience unto death. 

2. In the second place, respecting the nature of the evidence, 
I observe, that it consists of the scriptures interpreted literally, 
except where a necessity or clear propriety is shown for de- 
parting from this natural course. In the first instance, we deal 
with the Bible as with any other book of sound instruction : we 
do not substitute a recondite meaning for one that is obvious. 
When it appears to declare one thing, we do not receive it as 
signifying another. For instance, when it mentions Israel and 
Judah, the throne of David, and the coming of the Son of man, 
we receive it as signifying these very things. A stranger to the 
ways of scholastic theologians would say, All this is surely most 
rational; but, no, say our opponents, such plain dealing with the 
word of God is pregnant with mischief; and, misapplying and 
misquoting the scripture, "the letter killeth," they affirm; "the 
spirit alone giveth life." They therefore tax their ingenuity in 
the invention of secret meanings, which, after all, are sometimes 
far from being spiritual. The coming of the Son of man, they 
allege, does not mean the coming of the Son of man by any 
means, but the coming of the Romans, or the coming of death, 
or the coming of any thing which the fancy most conceits, save 
and except the Son of man himself : the mention of his name, 
is enough to exclude the thought of him. Now, it is lawful and 
reasonable to examine their claims. The throne of David, too, 
according to this system of interpreting the scriptures by con- 
traries, does not mean David's throne at all, but the human heart, 
or the throne in heaven of the Eternal Father. Neither does 
Jerusalem signify Jerusalem, but what, in many cases, is thou- 
sands of miles distant from it; for it signifies the church. And 
as for that carnal nation of Israel and Judah, signifying Israel 
and Judah, we are told we must believe the very opposite; for 
they principally signify gentiles. 

In different circumstances, such a system might require no 
other exposure than what is contained in the statement of its 
perversions. Through long establishment, however, the feeling 
of its absurdity has been worn away to such an extent, in fact, 
as to make figurative interpretation the general rule, and such 
as is literal, the exception to be proved. A few strictures on it, 
therefore, may appear to be absolutely necessary. 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 181 

I remark, then, in the first place, that according to this mode 
of dealing with the word of God, it is impossible either to prove 
any opinion true, or to disprove it as erroneous. When, as an 
orthodox believer, you stand forward to support your doctrine 
on any point with scripture literally interpreted — " 'the letter 
killeth,' you know," says the adversary. And since you are 
ever spiritualizing in opposition to millenarians, you cannot con- 
sistently refuse me similar liberties in opposing yourself. For 
example, these expressions of the apostle, respecting our Lord : 
" By Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are 
on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or 
principalities or powers; all things were created by him," are 
frequently quoted against the Socinian, to prove the derogatory 
nature of his views of the person of the Son of God, when he 
inculcates the doctrine of his mere humanity. But give the heretic 
the use of the principle we oppose, with what force might he 
not reply to our opponents. You say that in prophecy which has. 
not been literally fulfilled, Jerusalem must be spiritualized, as 
signifying the church; and Israel and Judah, as signifying dif- 
ferent classes of the members of that church : and is not my 
authority equally good for spiritualizing the (C all things" said to 
have been created by Jesus of Nazareth, as signifying the chris- 
tian dispensation of which he is the original prophet; and the 
thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, as signifying 
the various office-bearers of the church, such as the preachers, 
elders, deacons, etc., whom, in his prophetical wisdom, he has 
appointed, for its administration ? Or, again, when these words 
of the Saviour, " I came down from heaven," are urged as proof 
of his pre-eminent glory, how could our opponents resist the 
force of the rejoinder ? It is not nearly so fantastical for me to 
explain this by a reference to the miraculous mission of the in- 
spired prophet, as it is for you to say that " the coming of the 
Son of man in the clouds of heaven," is figurative phraseology 
for expressing the coming of the Romans. Besides, when all 
parties might be agreed that the oracle is to be spiritualized or 
interpreted figuratively, by what standard is the proper inter- 
pretation to be determined ? The Socinian spiritualizes one way; 
the Calvinist, another; the Quaker, a third; the Swedenborgian, 
a fourth; and many others a fifth and a sixth, etc. Who or 
what is to be made the arbiter ? It can not be some other de- 
claration of scripture, parallel to the particular one under dis- 
cussion; for that other is a subject to be spiritualized also, ac« 



182 THE CRISIS. 

cording- to each one's fancy and caprice. You may turn any 
thing 1 into a bible on this principle : you may spiritualize Gold- 
smith's History of England, and make it the text book of a 
system of theology. 

2. I remark in the second place, that in every other contro- 
versy with professed christians of deficient or erroneous creed, 
with socinians, with universalists, etc., the appeal is made to the 
scriptures interpreted literally. Recondite meanings are disowned 
and disallowed, and the stand is taken on the grammatical signi- 
fication of the terms. And why, we remonstrate, do so many 
make a change of principle, whenever they approach the mil- 
lennial question ? Wherefore is every regular canon of inter- 
pretation for a time suspended, that they may secure the demo- 
lition of our hopes ? What is there in these hopes, so wicked, 
that all this misrepresentation and perverted scholarship is le- 
galized in the attempt to refute them ? Whence this show of 
favour for the mahometan usurper, as if he were some ancient 
ally of the christian; and this abhorrence of the thought that the 
wandering and homeless jew should regain the land of his fathers, 
as if Abraham were held at enmity ? Is the royality of the church 
to be deprecated as a despotism; is the speedy resurrection of the 
saints to be deprecated as an evil; is it a matter of holy propriety 
that the disciple should deprecate the speedy advent of his Lord ? 
Ah ! I can not help suspecting that there is something dan- 
gerously wrong with the heart, wherever these expectations are 
opposed with sneers or artificial fallacious reasoning. Were the 
church as a bride faithful in her love, she would rather treat 
with indulgence the report of the speedy return of her betrothed, 
than bend her whole force to prove that it is a long journey on 
which the bridegroom is gone (Prov. vii. 19). 

3. I remark, that when it is to the literal acceptation that our 
opponents refer in disputing with the heretic, more strictly, if 
possible, is this their method in dealing with the infidel, and 
especially on this very field. No department of the external evi- 
dence of the divine inspiration of the scriptures affords so much of 
cogent argument, as that of prophecy fulfilled. Well is it a figura- 
tive fulfilment, with the exhibition of which we would persuade 
the infidel; and if he will not be persuaded, the testimony of 
which we leave with him for his curse ? He would scorn us, if it 
were so. If the prediction declared that Jerusalem should be 
destroyed, we point him to the literal Jerusalem : if it declared 
mat Israel should be dispersed, yet not consumed, we point him 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 183 

to the literal dispersion of the literal Israel. When, as a people 
of unmingled blood, (hoy mingle in (he merchandize of the mar- 
kets of the gentiles; when, in the same oracle, then, it may be 
predicted that Jerusalem shall be rebuilt and Israel restored, let 
the roughest or the nicest consistency judge of that interpretation, 
in which it is maintained that the rebuilding and restoration are 
to be spiritualized and appropriated for the church. How pre- 
posterous is the principle that all prophecy hitherto fulfilled is to 
be interpreted literally, but that all awaiting fulfilment is to be 
interpreted figuratively ! Have we not reason for suspecting that 
there is a spirit of unbelief at the bottom of all this; as if they 
doubted, were a literal interpretation insisted on, that the fulfil- 
ment would ever be made, and thus they might be exposed for 
their credulity to the laugh of the scorner ? Whereas out of any 
thing, at any time, they can shape a spiritual fulfilment, although 
it should be a revival of religion in some parts of the world, 
Which they construct into the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusa- 
lem; or the conversion of a few Hottentots and New-Zealanders, 
in which they discover the restoration of the tribes of Judah and 
Ephrairn. 

Having made these explanations, it maybe asked, Do we 
entirely reject all figurative interpretation, except where the ne- 
cessity of (he case demands ? So far from this is our conduct, 
that there is no class of expounders given so largely lo typifying 
and spiritualizing. It is not because the opposite party do so 
much in this way, that we find fault with them; but because 
they do so little in the other way. We conjoin the two. We 
have the advantage of all their spiritual interpretation, and of a 
literal one in addition : we begin with the literal, but we do not 
end with it. In the destruction of ancient Babylon, for instance, 
we find an earnest of the literal overthrow of the kingdoms of 
the world; and in the overthrow of these, again, we find an as- 
surance of the abolition of all antiehristian principles. In like 
manner, when we interpret so as to believe that Jerusalem shall 
be rebuilt, in the literal fulfilment, we expect an external sym- 
bol of the spiritual prosperity of the church; and, more than 
this, we do not hesitate for a moment to allow that the spiritual 
meaning is of greater importance than the literal, inasmuch as 
the antitype is superior to the type, the subject symbolized to 
the symbol, and the end to the means : only we avoid the in- 
consistency of expecting the antitype without the precedence of 
the type, the subject symbolized without the existence of the 



184 THE CRISIS. 

symbol, and the end without the means being put into operation * 
Let these remarks suffice for a general account of our principles 
of interpretation . 

The third general question on the subject of the evidence we 
propose to adduce, refers to its degree : it is, that it is such as 
every candid mind will be satisfied with prominent and general 
landmarks of hope, and wait in patience till the events shall cast 
light on particulars. 

Still, I may be asked, if, in supporting these leading points of 
our system, we be prepared to claim the character of demonstra- 
tion for our evidence ? Before answering this question, let me inter- 
rogate our opponents, how it fares with their conviction on some, 
yea, the whole of the most interesting doctrines of their respec- 
tive creeds, whichever side any person may have espoused in 
those disputes; whether he be an Episcopalian, a Presbyterian 
or an Independent, or Pedobaptist or Antipedobaptist. I would 
rank him low on the scale of intellect, or high on the scale of 
bigotry, were he to declare that he encounters no difficulty what- 
ever in upholding his system. This, at the least, may be said, that 
the person who declares that, on these and many other important 
subjects, his mind is never perplexed, instead of doing his cause 
service, injures and disparages it. By all reflecting men, he 
would be regarded as more intelligent, if not more conscientious, 
and his adversary would listen to him with greater respect, if, 
at the very time he stated and maintained his sentiments, he 
avowed, that to some of the objections made against them, he 
was unable to give satisfactory answers; that on the examining 
of scriptures, it has been only through a preponderance of testi- 
mony in favour of one side, by which he has come to a deter- 
mination of some questions; that he has decided according to 
the higher probability : not that he profanely charges the word 
of God with self-contradiction, and with bearing opposite testi- 
monies in different parts of its record; but that to his limited 
faculties, and deficient information, there is in some cases an ap- 
pearance of difficulty which he is unable to remove; so that the 
only resource for him as a believer of that book, which a thou- 
sand evidences proclaim divine, is to adopt that doctrine to 
which its testimony is given most clearly and abundantly. 

I take it for granted that this is a course of mental discipline 
through which every intelligent christian has passed. I therefore 
remonstrate, that since a high degree of probability is considered 
sufficient for determining other articles of faith, whence this par- 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 185 

iial dealing, whereby many demand the clearness and certainty 
of geometrical demonstration in order to the belief of the mil- 
lennial system : and, when, after long searching, they have dis- 
covered a verse or an expression which we can not explain to 
their satisfaction, they shall shout victory, and proclaim us de- 
feated; at a time, too, when that very expression is probably a 
perplexing one to themselves ? We call for an equitable judg- 
ment, that the same degree of evidence be received as conclu- 
sive on others. Let the higher probability determine the question, 
and we are confident that, by candid and discriminating judges, 
it will be determined according to our views. Nay; the cause 
is not ours : we contend for the Lord. 

I now proceed to examine the evidence contained in Daniel 
ii. 31-45. 

The dream of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, as inter- 
preted by the prophet Daniel, has been expressively and beauti- 
fully characterized by Meade as being the sacred calendar and 
great almanac of prophecy, by the guidance of which all our 
millennial discussions must be conducted, if we would have them 
conducted successfully. It stands thus : 

THE MONARCH'S DREAM THE PROPHET'S INTERPRETATION. 

"Thou, M-ng, sawest; and, behold, a great image." 

I. This image's head was of fine gold; 
II. His breast and his arms of silver; 

III. His belly and his thighs of brass; 

IV. His legs of iron; his feet, part of iron and part of clay. 
V. " Thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands, 

which smote the image on his feet of iron and clay, and brake 
them to pieces : then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver 
and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the 
chaff of the summer thrashing-floors; and the wind carried them 
away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that 
smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole 
earth." 

Now the interpretation : 

" Thou, king, art a king of kings : thou art this head of 

gold. After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, 

and another third kingdom of brass, and the fourth kingdom 

shall be strong as iron; and whereas thou sawest the feet and 

12* 



186 THE CRISIS. 

toes, part of potter's clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be 
divided. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven 
set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the king- 
dom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces 
and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever; 
forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the moun- 
tain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, 
the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God hath made 
known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the 
dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." 

The image, viewed as a whole, is emblematic of that system 
of human power, infidel, idolatrous or antichristian, principally 
affecting the interests of the children of Abraham, and the dis- 
ciples of Christ, which should have dominion on the earth, from 
the time of the captivity of Judah, to the era of the establishment 
of divine power under the reign of the Son of man. When 
examined more particularly, we find that this human power 
should consist of a series of four kingdoms, or monarchies, or 
empires, exhibited respectively under the emblems of gold, 
silver, brass, and iron and clay. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

Millennial Doctrine. 

The prophet himself expressly determines for us, that the part 
symbolized by gold was the empire of Babylon. After this, the 
process for determining the application of the other symbols is 
a very simple one : it is only to interrogate history, whether 
sacred or profane. What power overturned and succeeded that 
of Babylon ? The answer is, the Medo-persian; that, therefore, 
was the kingdom or empire of silver. Again, What power over- 
turned and succeeded that of Medo-persia ? The answer is, the 
Grecian; that, therefore, was the kingdom or empire of brass. 
Once more, What power overturned and succeeded that of 
Greece ? The answer is, the Roman; this, therefore, was the 
kingdom of iron. 

In the employment of the prophetic emblems for these various 
empires, there is a strikingly accurate adaptation to their respec- 
tive characters. As in the metallic succession, the materials de- 
crease in splendour, but increase in strength; so also in the im- 
perial succession, the kingdoms decrease in pomp, but increase 
in power. There is something here which might make all infi- 
dels, as well as Nebuchadnezzar, to be troubled on account of 
this image, in spite of all their affected sneering at our faith. 
They have grown ashamed of the falsehood that the book of 
Daniel is a recent composition of Roman times; and the defence 
of their unbelief now is, that he, Daniel, was an exceedingly 
sagacious politician, so as to make a most successful guess at 
what would be the revolutions of empires in all succeeding ages. 
What an exquisite thing infidel philosophy is ! Well, be it so. 
He whose sagacity foretold the empires of the silver, brass and 
iron, has also predicted the empire of the stone, by which all 
infidelity both of princes and subjects shall be visited with the 
destroying judgments of an avenging God. 



188 THE CRISIS. 

As (he fourth or roman power descends in the course of time, 
its iron, according to the prophecy, should be mingled with clay, 
and become a divided empire as symbolized by the toes of the 
image. All this, protestant expositors agree, was verified in the 
irruption of (he gothic and other barbarian tribes from the North; 
their settlement in the midst of the Romans, and the partition of 
the empire into the various principalities of modern Europe. 
And herein we are called to mark with admiration the superi- 
ority of the Bible in its politics, as in every thing else, to the 
speculations of uninspired men. Infidel historians discourse of 
the Roman empire having fallen under those irruptions of the 
northern tribes; whereas scripture prophecy represents it as 
having only undergone a modification, with what singular pro- 
priety, let the philosophical historian judge. At all events, what- 
ever may be the view taken by others, this must be the view of 
the scriptural politician. And here, at last, is something in which 
we are directly interested : the prophecy is now bearing on our- 
selves, as being directly or indirectly in company with the king- 
doms of the fourth empire of iron and clay. What is our na- 
tional character, and what are our prospects ? Let us not deny 
ourselves to the inquiry. It is conduct fit only for a child, to 
cover its eyes with its hands, and imagine that it is hidden 
from the danger, because the danger is hidden from it. The part 
which becomes wise men, is to acquaint themselves with the ap- 
proaching evil, that they may be prepared for its visitation; for 
this deadness to inquiry in the conduct of the great majority, 
when God has given us a sure word of prophecy, is worse than 
foolish : it is deeply criminal, that they should remain con- 
tented in their ignorance of what is coming on the earth. 

The prophet Daniel says (ii. 41), " And whereas thou sawest 
the feet and toes part of potter's clay and part of iron, the king- 
dom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of 
the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry 
clay; and whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they 
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not 
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.'* 
Here is a great mystery but little understood, and less desire to 
understand it, I apprehend, at the present day. This prophecy of 
Daniel unlocks the mysteries, and predicts the destiny of all the 
kingdoms or empires of the earth, down to the second advent of 
Christ. Now if there was true religion in the world, was it not 
in Rome at the time when Pagan Rome became Christian Rome, 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 189 

so called ? It appears that the prophet had a view of the whole 
field, and, connecting- cause and effect, traces them up to their 
ultimate results, until all these kingdoms or empires shall come 
in conflict with the stone cut out without hands. Why there 
ought, I think, to be no doubt on the mind of any christian, that 
this mingling with the seed of men, as the prophet says, applies 
strictly to the last apostacy of the gentile church (more on this 
particular hereafter). 

Well, then, I put the question, Shall this monster, this chris- 
tian roman empire, which has for near two centuries been ming- 
ling" with the seed of men; this gentile apostacy, shall it stand 
for ever ? No, surely, say the many; there will be no roman 
empire in eternity, after the world has been burnt to nothing, 
and we have been all carried to heaven. But, I ask again, Shall 
she stand much longer; do you think she shall stand another 
century ? Since Babylon, Medo-persia and Greece were over- 
turned, has Rome any plea to advance for exemption from the 
common fate of empires ? Can any of the kingdoms of the civi- 
lized world, can Europe or America, show good cause before 
the judgment seat of God, in the conduct either of her rulers or 
people, of her dominion having been so righteously exercised 
that it should, any more than that of Babylon the night it was 
sacked by Cyrus, be continued to them another hour ? Well, 
after all, say some, when we seriously think on the subject, it 
does not appear impossible, we even venture to say it is not un- 
likely, that before the end of time, Rome shall perish too. And 
is this the amount of your judgment; is this all the warmth of 
your patriotism for the church of Christ; is this the expression 
of the ardour of your hopes for the happiness of the world ? How 
much you have yet to learn of the character of God as a God of 
holiness : he has declared, so as to leave no room for uncertainty 
in the mind of any believer, that as Babylon, as Persia and as 
Greece fell, so shall Rome fall also, and with a heavier fall; 
and that another empire, even a fifth in the order of dominion 
over the world, shall be advanced to her place, long before the 
time when many persons imagine the earth shall be blotted out 
from existence. This is not one of the points which is left to the 
determination of the higher probability : the dream is certain, 
and the interpretation thereof sure. 

It is properly at this point that the millenarian controversy 
commences; and, little confident in my own powers, yet greatly 
confident in the cause I have espoused, I shall submit for exami- 



190 



THE CRISIS. 



nation the following 1 series of propositions deduced from the 
prophecy under review, with the solemn demand in the name of 
the Spirit of truth, that no man reject them who can not refute 
them as unscriptural : if he do, it is at his peril. 

Proposition 1. The whole of the present dynasty or power 
of Roman Europe and America shall be abolished, in order to 
the establishment on this earth of the empire of the Stone. 

The time marches rapidly onward, when there shall be no 
Italian, no French, no Spanish, no European and no American 
power whatever; any more than there was Babylonish power 
after the accession of Medo-persia, or Persian power after the 
accession of Greece, or Grecian power after the accession of 
Rome. The empire of the Stone shall take the place of the one 
of iron and clay, just as that of iron took the place of the one of 
brass, or that of brass the place of the one of silver, or the silver 
the place of the one of gold; the only difference being that the 
occupation made by the Stone shall be thorough and complete, 
whereas that made by each of the powers of its predecessors was 
partial and imperfect. Not only shall the Italian, the French, the 
Spanish, the British, and the American power be abolished : they 
shall no longer be known and remembered as independent king- 
doms; they shall only be remembered as powers (hat once were; 
and a special circumstance remembered of them shall be, that 
they formed parts and parcels of that mystic Babylon in which 
Israel was oppressed, and the church of the Redeemer abused 
and prostituted. 

Proposition 2. The abolition of these powers shall be made 
with violence. 

The stone was seen by Nebuchadnezzar to smite the feet of 
iron and clay, and break them to pieces. There can be little 
doubt that it was principally by this scene of vengeance that his 
mind was so much troubled, otherwise the dream was such as a 
king's fancy might be delighted with. 

Although these kingdoms were of a holy character, and as 
pure as the strictest sect of christians would prescribe, yet would 
the Lord come and abolish the system, and supplant it with one 
of surpassing glory, although Israel had remained faithful to the 
law; yet would the Redeemer have made his first advent, and 
introduced a new dispensation. In like manner, a new dispensa- 
tion awaits the world now; for I confidently believe it to be one 
of the errors of the theology of our times, that many should as- 
sert of the present that it is the last and best of the dispensations 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 191 

of the gospel covenant. The jews had no greater reason for ex- 
pecting a change would be made on their system, than we have 
for expecting one shall be made on ours. They lived under a 
dispensation of types and shadows of good things to come : all 
these good things to come were promised to the jews, and what 
are they ? Look at the 60th and 61st chapters of Isaiah : here 
are described, in glowing terms, a catalogue of good things to 
come. " Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the 
Lord is risen upon thee : therefore thy gates shall be open con- 
tinually, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the gentiles, 
and that their kings may be brought; for the nation and king- 
dom that will not serve thee shall perish." 

The jews, being oppressed by heathen tyrants, is it any won- 
der that they should fix their eyes on the glorious events of his 
second coming, as a mighty conqueror to put down their ene- 
mies ? They were right in part, but they were too hasty for vic- 
tory : they overlooked the previous steps; they did not perceive 
how the Great Captain of salvation should first be made perfect 
through suffering; they stumbled at his humiliation; they fell, 
and were broken off, and are to remain in their dispersed and 
forlorn condition until the fulness of the gentiles be come in; 
that is, as I apprehend, until the gentile domination has run its 
course. 

But as to the gentile church, they have fixed their views ex- 
clusively on Christ's first advent, and the glorious consequences 
flowing from it, the redemption of lost sinners, and the establish- 
ment of the gospel system of salvation; but they virtually deny 
his second personal advent, so far as regards his kingly regal 
authority to reign over the earth until his enemies be made his 
footstool; to destroy the works of the devil, and restore all things 
to their primitive purity : he shall reign over the whole earth. 
In his days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace 
so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from 
sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They 
that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, and his ene- 
mies shall lick the dust : yea, all kings shall fall before him; 
all nations shall serve him" (Psalm lxxii.). "Arise, shine; for 
thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee; 
and the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings 
shall minister unto thee : therefore thy gates shall be opened con- 
tinually, that men may bring unto thee the forces of the gen- 
tiles." Now in the case of these and of hundreds of such pas- 



192 THE CRISIS. 

sages of scriptures, the church denies that they have a literal 
meaning, but a spiritual one only. The jews spiritualized the 
conception and birth of Christ at his first coming; but the gentile 
church spiritualizes the humanity of Christ, and allow him no 
power and authority in all the world, except in and over the 
heart of man. But to the law and to the promise. 

How stands it with the scripture promise ? Are we not given 
the prospect of something called the binding of Satan; some- 
thing called the first resurrection; something called the reign of 
the martyrs; and something called the coming of the Son of man, 
to whom shall be given the dominion and the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven ? Let this prospect be figured 
and allegorized away as much as men dare; still it will amount 
not only to an improvement of the present dispensation, but the 
supplanting of it with a new one, or new compared with the one 
under which we now live, as is this when compared with what 
was the type of it in the days of Samuel and David. An aboli- 
tion then would have been made holy and saintly ; but how 
differently it would have come upon them in these circumstances, 
from the manner in which it is decreed to visit them on account 
of the multitude and aggravation of their iniquities ! At Mes- 
siah's feet, kings would have laid down their crowns, and bishops 
would have delivered up to him their pastoral staves; rejoicing 
that he had come, and exulting in the expectation, not that 
they would receive the same poor honours back from him, but 
a royalty and priesthood transcendanily ennobling. But it shall 
be wofully the reverse : the Lord knows his own, and his own 
he will reward; but to all the empires of the civilized world, 
he shall come as an avenger of rebellion. " And the kings of 
the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief 
captains and the mighty men, and every bondman and every 
freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the 
mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and 
hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from 
the wrath of the Lamb ; for the great day of his wrath is come, 
and who shall be able to stand." 

These avenging judgments, with predictions of which the pro- 
phetic oracles are so largely occupied, may be studied in two 
points of view : first, as they are necessary for the vindication 
of the divine government; and, secondly, as they are necessary 
for the welfare of the church. 

I know not who was the first to make the observation, that 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 393 

national sin can not be punished in eternity, and must therefore 
be punished in time. Whoever he may have been, he breathed 
for the time a spirit of superior theology. Some, indeed, have 
cavilled with the doctrine; but they cavilled only. Private sins, 
and the part which individuals have taken in national sins, can 
be punished in eternity, and thither we are referred for God's 
justification of his ways in dealing- with them ; but in the case of 
the grand united display of wickedness which a people may 
make, the justification must be made before their national capa- 
city is at an end. Accordingly, Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, and the 
Old Jerusalem, were not allowed a peaceful exit from this world 
by a gradual decay, but were overthrown by signal judgments. 
So is it decreed for this antichristian confederation : it shall be 
with her as when the angel took up a stone like a great mill- 
stone, and cast it with violence into the sea. There is a loud call 
made on the holiness of the Almighty, that it be with exemplary 
punishment he dismiss her from that stage on which she has been 
playing so long her farces of wantonness, and enacting her tra- 
gedies of blasphemy and blood. 

But independently of the forementioned reason, there is a ne- 
cessity for the infliction of such judgments, in order to the pro- 
posed exaltation of the church. The entire frame of the policy of 
this world, in its government, its domestic regimen, its merchan- 
dize, its literature, its fashions, its ecclesiastical policy not ex- 
cepted, is, to a great extent, inimical to the policy of that king- 
dom which the Holy God is about to erect for his Holy Child 
Jesus; and without the assurance of prophecy, we might have 
calculated from its conduct in times past, and the spirit which it 
manifests at present, that the wicked will stand by their ungodly 
systems to the last. It was necessary Pharaoh should perish, and 
Babylon fall, in order to the redemption and recovery of Israel. 
In like manner there is a necessity in the present age for the 
overthrow of ungodly men, before the church can enter into her 
millennial rest : it is over the bodies of her foes, that the Lord 
will conduct her into her inheritance. 



13 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

Millennial Doctrine. 

For entertaining such sentiments as those just expressed, we are 
assailed, not only by the abuse of the infidel, but of many who 
profess themselves the friends of religion : they denounce us as 
destitute of the spirit of the gospel; as men who delight in de- 
struction and blood; and whose unceasing cry of wo, wo, to the 
world, is like that of the lunatic of old, who perambulated the 
streets of Jerusalem. The charge I would answer seriously : let 
it be remembered that the prediction of the supposed lunatic was 
verified, and dire was the wo which fell on the heads of the 
mockers of his augury. In reply to the more serious part of the 
charge, first, I appeal with much confidence to the conduct of 
our brotherhood, for evidence that we are as tender-hearted, and 
delight as little in human misery, and as much in relieving it, 
as the most of our neighbours who charge us with cruelty of 
disposition. 

Secondly, we proclaim approaching judgments, because the 
Word of God, as communicated through both prophets and 
apostles, furnishes us with the text; and instead of submitting to 
the rebuke, we would ask of those who make it, whether they 
are not in danger of dealing partially with the counsel of God, and 
of subjecting themselves to the condemnation pronounced on 
those foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and have seen 
nothing, and who seduce the people, saying ' Peace,' when 
there is no peace ? One hath built up a wall, and, lo, others 
have daubed it with untempered mortar. Say unto them who 
daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall : there shall 
be an overflowing shower; yea, great hailstones shall fall, and 
a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it 
not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye daubed 
it ? And when they object to us their views of an evangelical 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 195 

ministry, we object to them the example of Christ; than whom, 
if there was never such a tender dealer with the penitent, 
neither was there ever a more stern denouncer of judgments 
on the froward. Can any man know what is the spirit of the 
gospel, better than its author himself? The word gospel signi- 
fies good news; and a principal part of these evangelical tidings 
is the promise made to the church of the overthrow of her 
enemies. 

Thirdly, we proclaim the approach of judgments, out of love 
for the souls of men, if haply we may be instrumental in arousing 
the careless and wicked, and persuading them, by the terrors of 
the Lord, to flee from wrath, and shelter themselves by the side 
of the Lamb, where they may stand in security when the storm 
of divine indignation is abroad desolating the impenitent. Let 
other faithful ministers explain wherefore they proclaim the woes 
of hell : the same are our reasons for proclaiming the woes pre- 
cursory of the Millennial Reign. 

Fourthly. It is admitted, however, that sometimes a spirit dif- 
ferent from that of compassion for sinners, inspires millenarian 
declamation on this subject. If an earthborn spirit of unholy 
politics ever dictate an expression of it, let that spirit and that 
expression be accursed; but there is another spirit which can 
stir the heart, and stir more exultingly : it is that love for the 
Church of God, which fired the bosoms of the prophets, when, 
in strains so jubilant, they sung the overthrow of her enemies, 
and the glory which God won for himself in their signal destruc- 
tion. Jehovah is a man of war : Jehovah is his name : Pharaoh 
and his host hath he cast into the sea; for his mercy endureth 
for ever. " And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great 
voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are be- 
come the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall 
reign for ever and ever; and the four and twenty elders who sat 
before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped 
God, saying, We give thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, 
who art and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken to 
thee thy great power and hast reigned; and the nations were 
angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that 
they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto 
thy servants, and shouldst destroy them who destroy the earth. 
And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in 
heaven, saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honour and 
power unto the Lord our God; for he hath judged the great 



196 THE CRISIS. 

whore which did corrupt the earth with her fornications, and 
hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hands. And again 
they said, Alleluia; and her smoke rose up for ever and ever." 
Such are the hallelujahs of christian patriotism. Oh that there 
were more who had the heart to unite in them, and who could 
unite in them without imprecating judgment on their own sin- 
fulness and apostacy ! 

The proposition which stands at the head of this section, leads 
only to the breaking and dissipation of the iron and clay; and 
since it is this part of the image in whose fate we, as a part of 
the antichristian confederation, are interested, it is of less moment 
that we have clear views of the fate predicted of its other de- 
partments. A few observations, however, may be proper in re- 
lation to them, also, to render complete the interpretation of the 
prophecy. 

Both in the dream of the monarch, and the revelation of the 
prophet, it is decreed that when the stone shall smite the iron and 
the clay, the brass also, and the silver and the gold, shall be 
broken to pieces together. Now the question naturally arises, 
How can this be ? Were not the golden, the silver and the 
brazen empires, destroyed by their respective successors, so that 
the one of iron and clay alone remains now standing for the 
demolition ? 

For the solution of this difficulty, let these three things be 
considered in the image : First, its geographical territory; se- 
condly, its population; and, thirdly, its government. Originally, 
its territory was only Babylonish; its population the same, and 
its government the same. Under the second dynasty, the territory 
and population of Medo-persia were annexed, and the govern- 
ment of the two made Medo-persian. Under the third, in like 
manner, the territory and population of Greece were annexed, 
and the government of the three made Grecian. Under the fourth, 
the territory and population were completed by the annexation 
of Rome, and the government of the whole made Roman. The 
emperor Trajan, as may be seen by history, held the dominion 
at once of the territory and population of all the four depart- 
ments of the great image. Now when the stone shall demolish 
it, in respect of which of these three circumstances, its territory, 
its population and government, shall the demolition be effected ? 
Not of its territory, evidently; neither of its population; for al- 
though dreadful shall the destruction in this respect be, yet it will 
not be an annihilation, so absolute as to implicate the terms of 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 197 

the prophecy "and the wind carried them away, that no place 
was found for them." It is the government, then, of the image, 
on which the wrath of the stone descends to break it to pieces; 
and upon the population, chiefly, in so far as the smiting of them 
is necessary to the smiting of the government. Mark well, there- 
fore, if the stone had arisen to its work of vengeance in the 
time of Trajan, there would have been neither golden, silver 
nor brazen power to break, but iron alone; but in consequence 
of Roman power being now limited to its own original territory, 
and other powers having sprung up within the territories of Ba- 
bylon, of Persia and of Greece, the image stands complete in 
its gold, its silver, its brass, its iron and clay. These four succes- 
sive monarchies were ordained of God for the chastisement, im- 
prisonment and vexation of his people : they began upon the 
great river Euphrates, whereon stood the capital of Assyria, 
which was Nineveh, and Babylon stood on the Tigris. From 
these two cities proceeded the power which destroyed the na- 
tional existence of the ten tribes, and brought the two into cap- 
tivity. These two capitals of Nineveh and Babylon, together 
with the countries over which they ruled, have now for eight 
centuries been under the dominion of the Turkish power, which, 
indeed, is named twice in the Apocalypse by the name of the 
Euphrates. Next to this came the Medes and Persians, whose 
territory the Persians still hold. Then came the kingdom of 
Alexander the Greek, who added to the territory of the great 
image that very portion of Greece, which, in our times, hath 
arisen out of oppression and political death, into the state of an 
independent kingdom, such as it was when it came on the pro- 
phetic stage. And, lastly, we have the Roman subsisting in the 
ten kingdoms of the West, answering to the ten toes of the 
image. So that we can say, in 1829, what never could have been 
said before, that the whole image, in its fourfold state, is at this 
time in distinct existence. These observations are important : I 
have not met with any thing on the subject, which goes so far 
to solve the difficulty. 

Proposition 3. The Roman or Antichristian dynasty having 
been abolished, no earthborn power shall ever succeed it. 

All interpreters agree, that the stone's being cut out without 
hands, is descriptive of its heavenly origin. (Compare II. Cor. 
v. 1; Markxiv. 58; John ii. 21; Coloss. ii. 11, 12.) 

There shall be no invasion from China, for instance, to seize 
on the government, as when Cyrus invaded Babylon, or Alexan- 



198 THE CRISIS. 

der invaded Persia, or the Romans invaded Greece. No; this 
Roman, otherwise Antichristian confederacy, has this honour 
and distinction reserved for her pride and cruelty, that though 
doomed to destruction, she shall not fall by the hand, or be suc- 
ceeded by the power, of any earthly rival : the stone is of God. 
There is a striking perfection in the symbols of the dream, when 
viewed in relation to this subject. The four principal metals of 
the mineral kingdon are employed in the composition of the co- 
lossal structure. Earth-born power is either of gold, of silver, of 
brass, or of iron : these being broken and dissipated, there is 
no other metal of strength with which to form a filth kingdom. 
The mines of the earth are exhausted; and for another dominion, 
we must look on high, and, lo, it comes down in that adaman- 
tine stone from heaven, and of heaven's own out-cutting and 
fashioning, with which nothing earthly may be compared either 
for beauty or for strength. 

Proposition 4. The stone is the church, with Jesus Christ 
consequently as Head of that church, the Sovereign King. All 
interpreters are also thus far agreed; the controversy being agi- 
tated only respecting the nature of the reign, whether it shall be 
only spiritual, or also external. This I shall consider afterwards : 
in the mean time, with this proposition before us, assented to in 
whichever of the senses, I remark, that surely ours must be an 
easy task. Had we a commission given us to execute, such as 
Daniel's was, when he was commanded into the presence of the 
lion king of Babylon, with a proclamation so offensive to a 
tyrant's ears, that the prince of Medo-persia would invade and 
vanquish him, and strip him of his dominion, our hearts might 
perhaps have failed us of courage. But although it were directly 
into the presence of the mighty potentates of the earth we were 
commissioned, since our proclamation for them and their cabi- 
nets and parliaments is, that the Son of God, by one kind of 
advent or another of resplendent glory, is high on his way to be 
the individual successor of them all, himself to administer the 
government of that religion for which they have long legislated 
so impotently and fruitlessly, and to transform this world univer- 
sally into a church of saints; when such is our proclamation, 
wherein is it offensive ? Profess they not all that they be chris- 
tian princes, holding their thrones of heaven, and, as lieutenants 
of Christ, ruling for his glory ? And when they perceive that 
their efforts in his cause are so unavailing; that infidelity and 
crime are so frightfully on the increase, enslaving their subjects 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 199 

for the service of Satan; being christian princes, how weary- 
one should think they must be of their royalty, and how glad 
for the gospel proclamation that the Master himself comes to 
relieve them from the burden. For all, it is a suitable aspira- 
tion, but specially for kings — " Even so come Lord Jesus : 
come thou quickly." An easy task would this be ? It were 
harder than was Daniel's. There are kings and sovereigns in 
Christendom, whom the report of a second advent would trouble 
as much as the report of the first troubled Herod; and as for 
their subjects, there are millions of them ready to shout, ' The 
church is in danger ! She will be robbed of her tithes;' or loudly 
vociferating about liberty, and the rights of the people, who 
would rather have Nero or Domitian for their king, than the 
Christ of God. Yet he will come to take the kingdom to him- 
self : the event is yet in the womb of futurity, but it is nigh its 
birth : the word of God labours with the burden of its prophecy. 
Be wise, now, therefore, ye kings; be instructed, ye judges 
of the earth. Serve God with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, 
when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that 
put their trust in him ! 

Proposition 5. In the days of the stone, the church shall not 
only exercise the power of which she is at present possessed, in 
a greater degree of strength, but shall be invested with additional 
power of a different nature. 

At present, the whole of her genuine power is spiritual, being 
exercised only on the conscience. She may not lawfully put forth 
her hand to touch, in a way of coercion or punishment, either the 
person or property of any man. When she calls as a church on 
kings or magistrates of this earth to wield the sword in her be- 
half, or to levy taxes for her support, or disfranchises the heretic 
or incarcerates the infidel, so far does she act the part of apos- 
tacy, and harmonizes with the Man of Sin, a principal mark on 
whose beastly brow is plainly seen that he has usurped the pre- 
rogative of Christ, to whom alone it appertains to be a priest on 
the throne and a king at the altar, concentrating in himself an 
external and spiritual jurisdiction. 

And yet the church, manifested as the stone, is decreed to 
execute a work of violence on the image : to smite it and break 
it to pieces. This is evidently a work unsuitable for the exercise 
of the only legitimate power which she at present holds, in 
dealing with the consciences of men, by means of the word, 



200 THE CRISIS. 

sacrament, discipline and prayer. All her institutions, her sab- 
bath exercises, her domestic instruction, her schools, her bible 
and missionary societies, etc., are of the most peaceful charac- 
ter, and meddle not with things given to change; except in the 
way of testifying against all wickedness, whether of prince or 
subject, even as I do at present. A thorough change will only 
happen when the Lord comes. 

In support of the foregoing proposition I submit the following 
remarks to the strictest examination. 

First. It can not with truth be said that it is the providence 
of Christ, administered independently of the instrumentality of 
the church, which shall smite the image and break it to pieces. 
That providence is universal, and admits of no enlargement; 
whereas the stone is seen to grow into a mountain. Besides it is 
said expressly, " The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, 
which shall break in pieces and consume all these other king- 
doms." It has been already stated, indeed, that almost all expo- 
sitors are agreed that the stone signifies the church, and not 
merely the providence of Christ. But men are so ready to shift 
ground in this controversy, that there is a necessity for reminding 
them of former admissions. Well, as it was, so it is again. 
" Saying, What shall we do to these men; for that a notable 
truth is made manifest, that we can not deny it; but that it 
spread no farther, let us threaten them, that we will set the popu- 
lar current against them, which will at once arrest its progress" 
(Acts iv. 16, 17). 

Secondly. It will not explain the terms of the prophecy, to 
say that the church, continuing as at present merely a spiritual 
power, shall, by the light which emanates forth from her, re- 
form and christianize the governments of this earth. This would be 
a mild and gradual, and, to a considerable extent, an accidental 
work; whereas the work of the stone is evidently one of great 
external violence : it smites; it breaks; it annihilates. Obvi- 
ously also is it one of speedy execution : it smites, and the 
image falls. Again, as obviously is it one of direct intention : 
the stone assails the image, with full purpose to destroy it. Is 
all this, is any part of it, a befitting and competent work for the 
Christianity of the present economy or dispensation ? 

Thirdly. The time assigned in the prediction for the ap- 
pearance of the stone, evinces that in its day the church shall 
be manifested with more than a spiritual dominion : it does not 
appear till the whole image is completed. Now, as a spiritual in- 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 201 

stitution, the church was established when the image had been 
filled or realized through only the length of the legs of pure iron. 
Assuming the date of that establishment to be the day of Pente- 
cost, the latest which, on any principle, can be assigned to it, 
it appeared several hundreds of years before the gothic irruption 
mingled in their clay in the composition of the feet; and yet the 
stone does not appear till after these feet are fully formed. 
c< Thou sawest (ill that a stone was cut out without hands, which 
smote the image on his feet of iron and clay." The stone, then, 
can not be the church as established by the apostles, and as sub- 
sisting at the present day. In support of the same point, I main- 
tain that exposition to be correct, in which the kings in whose 
days the God of heaven shall set up his own kingdom are inter- 
preted as denoting the ten kingdoms of modern Europe, symbo- 
lized by the toes of the image. They can not refer to the four 
ancient monarchies; for neither did they exist cotemporaneously, 
nor, in the days of the first three of them, was even the spiritual 
kingdom erected. The result will be the same, in proving that 
the church is not yet manifested in the form of the stone. 



13* 



CHAPTER XXV. 

SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONTINUED. 

Millennial Doctrine. 

Fourthly. No sooner does the stone appear, than it proceeds 
to demolish the image; but, as a spiritual institution, the church 
appeared eighteen centuries ago, and has not smitten the image 
to this day. Besichs, the stone is represented as performing its 
work of demolition while it is yet only of a stone's extent, before 
it has grown into a mountain, before it has enlarged; when it is 
limited, as I shall afterwards show, to the newly erected kingdom 
of Israel : whereas the spiritual kingdom of Christ has extended 
far and wide, while the image yet stands erect, whole, powerful 
and terrible. 

Fifthly. The kingdom of the stone is such, that the standing 
and continuance of the great image is altogether inconsistent with 
its growth and prosperity. The stone neither does nor can grow 
up to be a great mountain, till the image be removed; but the 
spiritual church may and does exist, or at least did exist ex- 
tensively and flourishingly under the dominion of the image : the 
very persecutions to which she has been subjected under that 
dominion, have promoted her growth ; therefore the spiritual 
kingdom of Christ cannot be that which is signified by the stone. 
In all this there is surely a superabundance of proof, clearing 
the way for the establishment of our next proposition, which 
almost necessarily follows from that which has just been de- 
monstrated. 

Proposition 6. In the days of the stone, the church, in ad^ 
dition to the power which she at present exercises over the con- 
science, shall be invested with all that power over the bodies of 
men, and their external circumstances, which is at present 
exercised by the kings of the earth. In that time there will be 
no division of power into civil and ecclesiastical, for the whole 
shall be ecclesiastical : not only will the magistracy be con- 
ducted by churchmen, which magistrates may be; but the 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 



203 



magistracy itself shall be of the church, acknowledging no other 
head than Christ, and no other interests than those of his royalty. 

"The kingdom of the stone," says Tillinghast, "is a king- 
dom, in respect to nature, the same with the kingdoms represented 
by the great image; or, it is outward as they are oulward, which 
appears, 1, from the general scope and drift of the prophecy, 
which runs upon outward kingdoms. All the first four kingdoms 
or monarchies are outward, as none can deny : why then the 
Holy Ghost, in speaking of the fifth and last, should so far vary 
his scope as to glide from the outward kingdom to the inward, 
ought ( besides the bare say so ) to have some solid and sub- 
stantial reason brought for it by those, whosoever they are, that 
either do or shall assert it. 2. Because it is not proper to say 
that a bare spiritual kingdom, considered only as spiritual, should 
break in pieces, beat to very chaff, grind to powder the great 
image, or destroy the very being of worldly kingdoms; which 
work is yet, notwithstanding, to be done by the stone. Indeed, 
Christ's spiritual kingdom may, by that light and life it gives 
forth, much refine and reform outward kingdoms; but when 
once the work comes to breaking and beating to pieces, sub- 
verting kingdoms, raising their very foundations, and destroying 
their being as they are the kingdoms of this world; here, unless 
we conceive God to do it by a miracle, must we also conceive 
some other hand besides a spiritual to be put to the work. 3. 
Because the stone, to the end there might not be a vacancy in 
the world, comes straightway in the place and room of the great 
image, so soon as ever the same is totally broken. For as the 
great image, while standing, bears rule over all the earth; so, 
the same being broken, the stone becomes a great mountain and 
fills the whole earth : therefore must the kingdom of the stone 
be such a kingdom as was that of the great image, to wit, out- 
ward; otherwise the coming of that in the place of the other, 
now taken away, could not supply the want of the other." 

The reasoning of this interpreter, as given above, I regard as 
conclusive for a mind inquiring after truth in the simplicity of 
candour; but as it is principally with preconceived opinions or 
prepossessions that we have to deal, it will be necessary to con- 
sider the point more at large, and call in other representations of 
scripture, besides those contained in the prophecy more im- 
mediately before us, in support of the present proposition, which 
is a vital one in our system. 

Let it be primarily observed, then, that the matter of dispute 



204 THE CRISIS. 

which lies between us and our opponents, is not, whether, in the 
days of the stone and mountain, Christ shall have a spiritual 
dominion over the hearts of men. Whoever may represent this 
to be the state of the controversy, errs greatly. We are second 
in zeal to no party in advocating the internal holiness and deeply- 
toneH spirituality of the millennial kingdom. All the denial lies 
with the opposite party, who will not believe, that, in addition to 
this reign over the heart, the Redeemer shall be put in possession 
of the external government of the world, to be administered by 
his risen and glorified church. We maintain that, under the 
approaching dispensation, He shall exercise all power : they 
maintain that he shall continue to put forth only a part of his 
power. Beside the power He has now in the church, we claim 
for him the administration of the state; that all law be consoli- 
dated, and be made church law : they refuse this claim, and 
plead on behalf of the kings of this world, that matters should be 
permitted to continue as at present; the church having one go- 
vernment, administered by the power and in the name of the Son 
of God; the state with another, separate and distinct, administered 
by the power and in the name of the Washingtons, the Williams, 
the Philips, the Ferdinands, and the Miguels of this earth. Only, 
say they, let there be such good agreement between the parties, 
that the power of the state shall never be exercised to the de- 
triment of the church, but rather for the protection of her mem- 
bers in the civil rights of conscience. 

The supposition of a case, and a statement of the different 
ways in which it would be dealt with according to the two 
systems, will more distinctly illustrate wherein we and our op- 
ponents disagree. Suppose that in millennial times, a man were 
to contest the doctrine of the royalty of Christ. According to the 
system of our opponents, he would be dealt with only as a heretic 
or infidel, in the way of excommunication from the church, 
while his civil privileges remained entire; but according to our 
system, the church being invested with all power, being in fact 
the state, he would be dealt with as being guilty of treason, by 
being cut off from the midst of the people. "And it shall come 
to pass, that every soul which will not hear that Prophet shall be 
destroyed from among the people" (Acts iii. 23). 

This is evidently carrying the matter much farther than the 
most zealous advocates of ecclesiastical establishments are, at the 
present day, disposed to proceed : they stop short of this con- 
clusion, in which their fundamental principle involves them, if 
consistently prosecuted to a termination . 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 205 

Before adducing the particulars of the scriptural evidence of 
the point under consideration, I appeal in support of it, on ge- 
neral principles, to the christian's love of his Redeemer and 
patriotism for the church. When the opposite party deny ours, 
do they not refuse Christ something, and something too of con- 
siderable magnitude? Is William's royalty nothing? Is there 
nothing in the combined royalty of all the kings of the earth ? 
Is not the brightness of the image excellent ; and is it to be 
borne with patience, that any man should refuse its being trans- 
ferred to the Saviour of the world ? Has He not wrought for it 
all : has he not paid for it ? Is there any thing in all this earth, 
of a nature excellent, for which, uplifted on the cross, he paid 
not largely; and shall his purchase be denied? Let it not be said, 
in the way of evasion, that by his providence he is governor 
already. This I devoutly believe; but, in justice, I demand more 
for him : I ask, that as the Son of Man, he be acknowledged 
governor : I ask yet more, that he have the glory of being 
manifested governor. Would it be any glory that He who was 
once mocked of Herod, and, in compliance with the mob, nailed 
to the accursed tree under the warrant of Pilate, should be ma- 
nifested regnant on the same ground of his former ignominy and 
pain? All nature says it would. Well, we claim it for Him; for 
glory there is none which He has not purchased. 

But, I now ask, would it be any glory for that institution, 
which has so long and bitterly been the object of the persecution 
of power, the scorn of pride and the laughter of philosophy, that 
it should be promoted to the administration of the universal em- 
pire of the world? It is a consummation devoutly to be wished 
by all who are true to the cause of Heaven; and we may be 
assured that the love of the Redeemer tor his Bride is too strong, 
that he should withhold from her any thing which will dignify 
and advance her. She has so long since fallen among thieves and 
robbers; and why should it appear incredible, that all this earth 
should be made the inheritance of the church of God? In support 
of our proposition — 

First. The investment of the church with external power, is 
a necessary consequence of the demolition of the image. Of such 
power, she was possessed previously to the captivity of Judah; 
but at lhat time, she was despoiled of it by Babylon. Medo-per- 
sia, Greece, and Rome, successively upheld the usurpation, and 
do conjointly uphold it at the present day. Let these empires be 
demolished, then, according to the prediction. Since they shall 



206 THE CRISIS. 

have no successor in the usurpation, justly, naturally and neces- 
sarily does outward dominion revert to the church, as a restora- 
tion of that which anciently belonged to her. 

Secondly. The vision recorded in the 7th chapter of Daniel, 
terminates in the same manner as does the dream in the 2d 
chapter. The four empires of Babylon, Medo-persia, Greece and 
Rome, respectively symbolized by the lion, the bear, the leopard 
and the monster, having been overthrown and destroyed, the 
fifth empire in the succession is the Kingdom of Heaven. Verses 
13, 14 : " I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the 
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the 
Ancient of days, and they brought him near before Him ; and 
there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that 
all people, nations and languages should serve him. His do- 
minion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, 
and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." 

Omitting for the present the personal advent and reign of the 
Messiah, I pass to the interpretation given in verse 27. The 
kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under 
the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the 
Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; and all 
dominions shall serve and obey Him. Even here the evidence is 
strong in favour of the personal reign of the Redeemer himself; 
but it is the reign of his church, we are at present considering. 
What, then, I would ask, is the kingdom which this prediction 
declares shall be given to the saints ? Shall any one venture to 
dispute that it is the very same kingdom enlarged, of which the 
beasts were or are possessed, but which shall be transferred to 
the church ? What, then, I ask again, was the nature of the 
kingdoms of Babylon, of Persia and Greece; and what is the 
nature of the ten-horned roman beast at this day ? External, 
undeniably, with the dominion exercised over the bodies and 
outward circumstances of the human race. Demonstratively, 
therefore, shall the external government of the earth be made 
the inheritance of the church. 

In a common case of controversy, what has already been 
produced would be regarded as satisfactory; but I remark, 
again, that to the saints shall be given, as saints. I question not 
that a king of the fourth monarchy may be personally a saint; 
but his saintship is an accidental circumstance to royalty : king 
he would have been independently of it, as we know others have 
been who lived in flagrant violation of the precepts of the gos- 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 207 

pel. But in the holy dispensation of the fifth kingdom, genuine 
saintship, not the professions of hypocrisy, nor oaths of perjury 
according to the forms of law, but God, believed, loved, and 
obeyed in Christ — shall be essential to the character of those 
who are advanced to office. Nor shall Christianity be only a 
secondary point; but it shall be that feature, for excellence in 
which the office-bearers of the millennial kingdom are appointed 
to their stations. 

I remark, secondly, that not only shall they be promoted as 
saints, but that the sole object of their rule shall be the protec- 
tion and advancement of the saints' cause. The kingdom shall 
be the saints', and for the saints shall it be administered. Just 
as a magistrate of the first monarchy exercised power for the 
advantage of Babylon, so shall one of the fifth monarchy exer- 
cise dominion for the glory of the church, but with greater fide- 
lity and zeal, because more fervently patriotic. Oh ! where is 
patriotism among us to rejoice in this prospect for the Re- 
deemer's kingdom ? Where are those who are qualified for ad- 
vancement to such authority ? We have lost sight of the promise 
which the Lord has given his Bride, that he will make her the 
world's empress; and, losing sight of the promise, we have lost 
a consciousness of the nobility of the church. Our ambition has 
died away : we have become earthly-minded in spirit : we are 
content to think; yea, like fools, plead against ourselves that the 
princes of this world should continue to hold the dominion as 
long as the earth lasts, and that the church should, till the end, 
the general resurrection and the last judgment, still continue a 
powerless institution. I now turn to evidence contained in the 
New Testament. 

Thirdly. " Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the 
earth" (Matth. v. 5). Such is one of the beatitudes pronounced 
by our Lord, in his sermon on the Mount. There is perhaps no 
other declaration of the scriptures, in the treatment given to 
which the painful fact is so strikingly illustrated, that when an 
interpretation is frequently repeated, it comes to be received as 
genuine and unquestionable, howsoever perverse and absurd. 
The current exposition in the present case is, that the meek 
men, though poor, destitute, dishonoured and oppressed, inherit 
the earth through contentment and resignation to the will of 
God; and when, sabbath after sabbath, such doctrine is taught 
from the pulpit, even the suffering saint himself will prostrate 
before it his common sense, and submit his understanding to it 



208 THE CRISIS. 

as incontrovertibly orthodox, and complain as if it were a sin 
that his feelings rebel against it. It is a fearful idea, and, I ap- 
prehend, not more fearful than true, that the misapplication and 
perversion of this prophecy has been the cause of more infidelity 
throughout Christendom, than all other errors put together. It is 
also the opinion of some eminent and experienced ministers. 
(But this subject hereafter.) I can afford little more than a state- 
ment of the leading points of the genuine exposition. 

First. The words of our Lord are prophetical : " they shall in- 
herit the earth." Those meek ones whom he may have addressed, 
were not as yet possessed of the inheritance; and from that day, 
even to the present, no such change has taken place in the situ- 
ation of the church, amid the kingdoms of this earth, as to do 
away with the application of the beatitudes, although the future 
lense is sometimes employed to express what regularly takes 
place. But, first, those who deny that this passage is of a pro- 
phetical character, must give us satisfactory proof that inheri- 
tance of the earth in the present age is the regular consequence 
of meekness, before we consent to depart from the strict gram- 
matical signification; and let them remember that they must 
prove it in the case of every meek man, and not of a great number 
only; for the declaration here is as absolute, as when it is said 
in the sixth beatitude, for instance, "Blessed are the pure in 
heart, for they shall see God." As all the pure in heart shall 
enjoy this beatific vision, so all the meek shall inherit the earth. 
Let objectors try their demonstrative powers to prove that a 
saint, long immured in a dungeon, and then led forth to martyr- 
dom, does inherit the earth. 

Secondly. In the 37th Psalm, from which our Lord quotes, 
the words are undeniably a prediction concerning the future, 
and not a declaration of what regularly took place at the time 
when the psalmist wrote. Nor are they an encouragement to 
sinners to repent, assuring them that those who become meek 
shall therefore inherit the earth : they are an encouragement to 
stedfastness in those who are meek already, but at present, not- 
withstanding their meekness, in a depressed condition. Some in- 
terpret it of the promised land. Well, it is indeed a heavenly 
land, being gifted from heaven, and planned out after the pat- 
tern of heaven, but still it is a land on the earth : it is the same 
as the kingdom of heaven promised in the first beatitude; and 
what that is, we are informed by Daniel : it is the kingdom 
which the God of heaven establishes in place of the kingdom of 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 209 

the image. More especially I refer to the 37th Psalm : there it 
is impossible to misapprehend the prophetic nature of the bene- 
diction, or its reference to a condition of things on the earth. 
" Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; ,yea, thou shalt 
diligently consider his place, and it shall not be; but the meek 
shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abun- 
dance of peace" (verses 10, 11). 

How beautifully harmonious is the Word of God, when scrip- 
ture is compared with scripture ! Here we behold the image in 
power, and the church depressed; but anon the image broken 
to pieces, and the church exalted. The inheritance of the earth 
implies the possession of its government : this is almost self- 
evident. Could the Americans be said to inherit this country, were 
its laws enacted and administered by the Russians, howsoever 
mildly and equitably the authority might be exercised ? And 
shall we interpret the promise of God more loosely than the po- 
litical language of men ? But let it be observed, that the meek 
shall possess the government, as being meek; and that to the 
promotion of the cause of the meek, shall their administration be 
wholly directed. Any thing less than this, is a circumscribing of 
the inheritance of the church. 

I here close this topic for the present. 



14 



CHAPTER XXVL 



SUBJECT OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTER CONCLUDED. 

Millennial Doctrine. 

There remains another evidence of great force, which I shall 
bring forward in support of the doctrine for which I at present 
plead. Since, in this controversy as well as in some others, there 
are many who are affected with an inexplicable perversity of 
judgment, it becomes requisite that we examine a passage of 
scripture which is frequently represented as being subversive of 
our doctrine; and I do it cheerfully, because the examination 
will accumulate our proof. The passage is John xviii. 36 : 
"Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world." Many 
urge this declaration of our Lord, as sufficient of itself to de- 
molish the whole of our system. 

Now, in regard to the passage, it is an obscure one; and it 
is not the part of wisdom to derive its faith from what is obscure, 
in preference to what is luminous. That it is obscure, is evident 
from the circumstance, that our opponents in regard to church 
establishments take very different views of it. One party main- 
tain that it is not opposed to the civil magistrate taking order, by 
the force of the sword, in cases of resistance; that the truth of 
God be kept pure and entire; that taxes be paid in support of 
a christian ministry. The opposite party maintain, on the other 
hand, that passage as explicit in denying all right of the magis- 
trate to interfere, either in the way of controuling, regulating, or 
helping the church as the church, and that it is dangerous pre- 
sumption for him to touch the ark. Now this very discrepancy 
of opinion is a proof that the declaration of the passage is such 
as has been stated; but let us put it to the test, and let the word 
of God decide. 

In the gospel of John xviii. 36, Jesus answered, " My king- 
dom is not of this world : if my kingdom were of this world, 
then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to 
the jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence." 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 211 

Rev. xi. 15 : cc And the seventh angel sounded; and there 
were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world 
are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he 
shall reign for ever and ever." 

Is the declaration contained in the latter of these passages, 
that Christ's kingdom is of this world, any less explicit than that 
contained in the former, that it is not of this world ? Must we 
conclude, then, that the word of God is self-contradictory, and 
give up both passages, as mutually neutralizing one another's 
evidence? All truth forbid it ! The two are easily reconciled; 
the principle of solution being that they refer to different states 
of the church, at different periods of time. With respect to the 
first, I have no difficulty for the interpretation among presbyte- 
rians, so long as they limit its application to the state of the 
church on this side of the millennial era. 

The accusers of our Lord understood his claiming the mes- 
siahship as being tantamount to his claiming the external gover- 
norship of the world, and they carried him before the Roman 
judge with that accusation. So the point at issue, when he was 
tried, was not the origin of his kingdom, but its nature; whether 
it was such as to interfere with the authority of Caesar. And 
since the answer was given as a denial of the charge of his 
enemies, and received as such by the judge, I can not but 
say that the establishment of the church by the civil power, 
under the present dispensation, appears to be inconsistent with 
the declaration of the Blessed Redeemer. With the kingdom of 
his second advent, Pilate had nothing to do, more than if it had 
been a different person. Accordingly our opponents do not con- 
sider the declaration inconsistent with his coming in his king- 
dom, to execute external judgment on the workers of iniquity, 
at the conclusion of this mundane system. Although then our 
Lord had stopt short in his reply, without subjoining the last 
clause, his explanation would have been nowise at variance w r ith 
our doctrine concerning the nature of his millennial reign; but lest 
he should be misapprehended as disclaiming right of empire in 
the sense charged, not only for the present lime, but all time to 
come, even at the bar of Pilate does he enter his protest against 
any misconstruction, and intimate that it is only for a season he 
makes no pretensions to the diadem of Caesar. " If my kingdom 
were of this world, then would my servants fight for me; but 
tww is my kingdom not from hence." Why this qualification, 
this particularizing of the present state, if his kingdom would 



212 THE CRISIS. 

not be of such a nature at some future period ? How refreshing 
and encouraging: it is for the soul to think of the heroism with 
which the Man of sorrows, even in these circumstances of hu- 
miliation, defends his royal prerogative; at the risk, too, of being 
asked for explanations which might have lost Him the favour 
of that tyrant whose willingness to let him go is a memorable 
proof of his innocence, and of the malice of his accusers ! So that 
the declaration of our Lord, recorded in John's gospel, instead 
of being hostile to our system, turns out, on examination, to be, 
on the contrary, corroborative of it. 

The proclamation of the angel, recorded in John's Apoca- 
lypse, does not require any farther discussion. That it refers to 
the millennial reign, almost all are agreed; and is not the im- 
port of it obviously that Christ shall then be put in possession of 
that same government which is now held by those kings of the 
earth, who shall be consumed under the seventh trumpet, till, by 
the outpouring of the seventh vial, they shall be utterly destroyed ? 
The evidence of the text, as corrected by an author, is perhaps 
stronger : the sovereignty of the world has become our Lord's, 
and his Christ's. There can be little doubt, with every candid in- 
quirer, that this is the same event to which Daniel refers, when, 
recording his vision, he states, that on the overthrow of the 
fourth monarchy, and the establishment of the fifth, he " saw in 
the night visions; and, behold, one like the Son of man came 
with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and 
they brought him near before Him; and there was given him 
dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, 
and languages should serve him" (Daniel vii. 13, 14). 

From the foregoing consideration, I claim the acknowledgment 
of the external aggrandizement of Christ's kingdom on earth. 
The thanksgiving of the elders on the proclamation is confirma- 
tive of this view : " We give thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, 
which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken 
to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were 
angry; and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they 
should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy 
servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy 
name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them that destroy 
the earth" (Rev. xi. 17, 18). Has any one the boldness to refer 
all this to the spiritual victories of religion over ungodly princi- 
ples, through the instrumentality of preaching of the gospel ? 
For, let it be remembered, that it is not a prediction of events 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 213 

which shall not take place till the time of the final judgment, 
but of the visitation of God's wrath on ungodly men previously 
to the millennial era, and the reward which shall at that period 
be conferred on the saints, without enlarging on the prospects 
of the saints who are dead, awakening in the resurrection to the 
enjoyment of the triumph. The next proposition which I shall 
deduce from the sacred calendar, has in some measure been 
anticipated, and therefore I only give a simple statement of it. 

Proposition 7. The church, once established with external 
power, shall rapidly extend her dominion till her empire be uni- 
versal; being that stone, which, as seen by Nebuchadnezzar, 
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth (Daniel ii. 
34, 35). 

In the first instance, she shall take possession of power on the 
territory or platform on which the image stands; but, immedi- 
ately thereafter, she shall proceed to subject to her dominion all 
the tribes of the world, so that there shall be no authority which 
is not held by tenure from her, and administered in her name. 
When the kingdom is restored to Israel, there shall be no limi- 
tation to the sway of his sceptre. 

Proposition 8. This kingdom shall stand for ever. 

Rebellion will at one period disturb it, and it will undergo 
modifications; but, as the kingdom of heaven on earth, it shall 
have no end. At the instigation of Satan, let loose from the 
bondage in which he shall be held captive for the thousand years, 
Gog and Magog shall assail the seat of government; but fire 
from heaven shall devour them. Then shall come the second 
resurrection, and final judgment. And what thereafter ? Not the 
annihilation of this earth, I am persuaded : it may be changed 
and renovated, but not be utterly destroyed. Were the prince of 
hell so far to succeed, as to make necessary the obliteration 
from existence of this great work of God, which, in divine com- 
placency, he originally pronounced good (Gen. i. 31), "And 
God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very 
good"; and were the saints to be removed to a different country, 
to mingle indiscriminately with angels and other intelligent 
beings, the kingdom of the church, as the successors of the four 
monarchies, would not be everlasting in the absolute sense of 
the term; and we must be shown, from the scriptures, the ne- 
cessity of adopting a restricted sense, before we depart from the 
primary meaning of the language of inspiration. 

In the close of this article, I would just observe, in relation 



214 THE CRISIS. 

to the new earth and new heaven, the earth spoken of in scrip- 
ture : Let it be remembered that a new earth is an eartli still; 
and that it is as competent with God to make this earth so new 
or renovated, as that righteousness shall universally prevail 
throughout its whole extent, as to make a new man in whom 
grace may abound. The new man is a man still; so also the 
new earth is an earth still. If we bear this in mind, it will, I 
believe, remove the difficulty of this earth, on which the Saviour 
suffered and died, being made the scene of his exaltation and 
glory with his redeemed church. We can not, without wresting 
the fair interpretation of the scriptures, limit his exaltation to his 
resurrection and ascension, the full manifestation of which is yet 
future. Christ's intercession, in the 17th chapter of John, is not 
yet fully accomplished in regard to his people : neither, also, 
is it, as I apprehed, in regard to himself. There is a depth of 
meaning in ihe fifth verse : " And now, Father, glorify thou 
me with thine own self; with the glory which I had with thee 
before the world was." Can we, dare we, for a moment, sup- 
pose that a petition from the lips of Christ to his Father will not 
be fully answered in its appointed time ? Is any thing too hard 
for God ? Hath he said, and will he not do it ? 

There is, in this discussion, an important distinction between 
prophecy and promise being fulfilled, and that which is fulfilling. 
Much has already been fulfilled, and much more is yet future, 
and therefore it is important to bear in mind the distinction. 
Isaiah liii. 10, 12 : " Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him : 
he hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an of- 
fering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, 
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand : he shall 
see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." Now in this 
promise is blended that which has been accomplished in part, 
and that also which reaches forward to the final consummation 
of all things. • 

Again, John xvii. 5, 20, 21, 22, 23, Christ's intercession to 
his Father (verse 5), " And now, Father, glorify thou me 
with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before 
the world was." Verse 20 : " Neither pray I for these alone, but 
for them also who shall believe on me through their word, that 
they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; 
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." Verse 22 : 
" And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them." 
Verse 23 : " That they may be made perfect in one; and that 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 215 

the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them 
as thou hast loved me." 

Psalm lxxii. 8 : "He shall have dominion also from sea to 
sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." Verse 11 : 
" Yea, all kings shall fall down before him : all nations shall 
serve him." Verse 15 : " And to him shall be given of the 
gold of Sheba, and daily shall he be praised;" which is an es- 
sential part of the glory which the Lord Christ is yet to receive 
in this world, for his humiliation and sufferings. Verse 17 : 
" His name shall endure for ever : his name shall be continued 
as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in him; all nations 
shall call him blessed." Here is another essential part of his 
manifested glory in this world, yet to come. 

Again, Psalm ii. 8 : " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the 
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
earth for thy possession." This is yet future unfulfilled prophecy; 
but what is now in a most remarkable manner daily fulfilling, 
is to be seen in the first three verses : " Why do the heathen 
rage, and the people imagine a vain thing ? The kings of the 
earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, saying, 
Let us break their bands asunder,'' etc. Verse 6 : " Yet have 
I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." This I apprehend to 
be now only in the purpose of God : its full accomplishment is 
yet evidently future; for when have the heathen, and the utter- 
most parts of the earth, been given to Christ for his possession ? 
When has he had dominion from sea to sea, and from the river 
unto the ends of the earth ? When have all kings fallen down, 
and all nations did him service ? When have all nations called 
him blessed ? 

Verses 8, 11, 17, of Psalm lxxii. as above. When these 
promises are fulfilled to Christ in their true scriptural sense, then 
indeed shall his visible exaltation and manifestation take place 
as king in Zion. Then it will be as recorded in Daniel ii. 44 : 
" The God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never 
be destroyed." Now if God sets up a kingdom on earth, which 
shall stand for ever, it must of necessity have a king. We go to 
Daniel vii. 13, 14 : "I saw in the night visions, and behold 
one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and 
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before 
Him ; and there was given him dominion and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, nations and languages should serve him. 
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 



216 



THE CRISIS. 



away; and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. " 
Here, I think, we have a full revelation of the king which is to 
fill the throne. It is now, I apprehend, the period when Christ's 
intercession in John xvii. 5, is fully accomplished : " And 
now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self; with the 
glory which I had with thee before the world was." Yes, his 
intercession for himself, as well as for his followers, will be ac- 
complished at his second personal advent; and his exaltation and 
glory on the earth will be as high, visible, manifest and glorious 
to mortal, as well as to immortal eyes, as his first advent was by 
the world deemed low and degraded, when he suffered on the 
cross as a condemned malefactor; when the multitude said, 
Away with him, Crucify him. This was the very extreme of his 
humiliation. And so shall Christ's yet future exaltation and per- 
sonal visible glory, his sovereign dominion over this earth, as 
far transcend all the honour and glory which he has ever re- 
ceived from this world, as the heaven is above the earth, or as 
the Creator is above his creature man. All this glory and ho- 
nour is due to Christ, as his reward for his humiliation and suf- 
ferings on earth for sin. 

That the present moral and political condition of the world 
is altogether without a parallel in the past history of mankind, 
will be denied by no accurate observer : it is to be found in 
that sensation of fear and expectation which fills the minds of 
men with some mighty event, they know not what, which is 
coming. 

The political destinies of this earth, as summed up in Daniel 
ii. 34, 35, 44, 45; also vii. 9, 14, 26, 27, may be briefly em- 
bodied in the two following propositions : 

First. All human rule, authority and power, which now 
exists, shall cease and be abolished. 

Second. The Son of God is about to appear with his saints; 
and into their hands all rule, all authority, and all power are to 
be transferred. 

The awful political phenomena which now arrest the attention 
of men, are a part of the process of the judgment preparatory 
to the demolition of all human rule, authority, and power. 
Hence it is that the stamp of fatuity and disappointment is, in 
the present day, so evidently put upon every scheme of worldly 
politicians. There is good reason for this. Our politicians of all 
parties refuse to humble themselves before God, and ask wisdom 
from him : therefore are they given up to their own vain ima- 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 217 

ginations. Their schemes are all for upholding that which now 
exists, but is destined to perish, and is already under the process 
of judgment; while that which is hereafter to exist by the power 
of the Son of God, is yet hidden from our eyes. 

The stone which is to smite the image on his feet, is not yet 
seen. It is when the Lord Messiah shall come with clouds, and 
when that despised people, the Jews, shall again arise into poli- 
tical existence, and stand on their feet in a national form, that 
the Stone will appear. The mountain out of which the stone is 
cut, appears to be a symbol of the kingdoms of this world. The 
cutting of the stone out of the mountain without hands, signifies 
the gathering of the jews out of these kingdoms by the mighty 
power of God, and their being again formed into a nation (Eze- 
kiel xxx. 33, 35). Then shall be fulfilled the promises to Israel. 
" Behold, said Balaam, the people shall rise up as a great lion, 
and lift up himself as a young lion. He shall not lie down until 
he eat of the prey, and drink of the blood of the slain" (Num. 
xxiii. 24). " Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel. 
I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer the Holy One 
of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp thrashing in- 
strument, having teeth : thou shalt thrash the mountains, and 
beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff; thou shalt 
fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind 
shall scatter them" (Isaiah xli. 14- 16). 

Let the reader advert to the circumstance, that in the symbo- 
lical style, mountains denote earthly kingdoms, and he will at 
once see that this prophetic annunciation in Isaiah is exactly 
parallel to the one in Daniel ii. 34, 35, respecting the stone 
falling on the feet of the image. 

Micah v. 8 : " And the remnant of Jacob shall be among 
the nations (gentiles), in the midst of many people, as a lion 
among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks 
of sheep, who, if he go through, both treadeth and teareth in 
pieces, and none can deliver." This passage is plainly parallel 
to the words of Balaam, already cited; and as Micah lived at 
the period of the captivity of the ten tribes, and the decline of 
the kingdom of Judah, the prophecy has evidently never been 
fulfilled. 

It is after the execution of these awful judgments on the na- 
tions, that the Lord will establish his kingdom of peace through- 
out the whole earth. 

In that dispensation, the kingdom and dominion, and the 
14* 



218 THE CRISIS. 

greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given 
to the people of the saints of the Most High (Dan. vii. 27). 
Israel will then become the metropolitan nation of the earth. At 
that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and 
all nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord to 
Jerusalem (Jeremiah iii. 17). And through this highly-favoured 
people, will the blessings of the rule of Christ and his saints be 
dispensed to the whole world. Speaking to Jerusalem, the Lord 
says, " The nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee, shall 
perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted" (Isaiah lx. 
12). 

To serve, and not to exercise sovereignty, is that to which 
the Lord, therefore, calls the nations in that glorious age; and 
for this they are required now to prepare themselves, by the out- 
stretched arm and the judgments of the Almighty, warning them 
to confess their sins, to repent, and turn to God; but these 
warnings and threatenings appear to have little or no effect. It 
would be well for this apostate gentile church to consider whether 
they have not made an idol of reform only, and are contented 
with their idol; if so, assured they may be that he who is very 
jealous of his honour and glory will avenge himself on the 
idolatry. " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
raise unto David a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and 
prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In 
his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel dwell safely; and this 
is his name, whereby he shall be called, the Lord our righteous- 
ness" (Jeremiah xxxiii. 14- 16). " I will surely assemble, 
Jacob, all of thee : I will surely gather the remnant of Israel" 
(Micah ii. 12). " But in the last days it shall come to pass that 
the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the 
top of the mountains; and he shall judge among many people, 
and rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall sit every one under 
his vine, and under his fig-tree, and none shall make them afraid" 
(Micah iv. 1, 2, 3). " Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of 
hosts; but who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall 
stand when he appeareth ?" (Malachi iii. 2). 

We exhort, therefore, and in love beseech, all who may read 
this, to prepare for the coming of the Son of God with all his 
saints, to judge the world in righteousness; for that day shall 
come as a snare, on all them that dwell on the face of the whole 
earth (Luke xxi. 35); and all the signs of its approach, spoken 
of by our Lord, have passed before the eyes of this generation. 



MILLENNIAL DOCTRINE. 219 

To the saints of God; to you, who, with loins girded, and 
lamp burning, and vessels filled with oil, are waiting for his 
coming, it will be a blessed day, when the Son of God shall 
descend with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of 
God (I. Thess. iv. 16). " For in a moment ye shall be changed, 
and, together with the raised saints, shall be caught up to meet 
him in the air" (17). " Ye shall be with him when he breaks 
in pieces the nations. He that overcometh and keepeth my works 
unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he 
shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter, 
shall they be broken to shivers" ( Rev. ii. 20 - 27). " This 
honour have all the saints" (Psalm cxlix. 9). 

Repent, sinner, and prepare to meet thy God ! 



CHAPTER XXVIL 



THE SECOND ADVENT AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 

The influence of prejudice, and the habits of mental association, 
are exceedingly powerful; and this influence is increased by 
weakness of judgment, as the human mind, since the degradation 
it has experienced through sin, has more or less been disposed 
to shrink away from any direct manifestation of God. Even good 
men, rescued by grace, seem still too much entrammelled by 
this fear; who, while they recognize a distinct, stately, and in- 
distinct notion of providence, do as vehemently oppose a do- 
mination which would overawe their passions, and render painful 
the pursuits of ambition, pleasure or wealth. Men love to live 
under a liberal feeling of independence, and to confine their 
notions of power, or of submission, to the existing authorities, to 
the existing means of science and sources of emolument. Under 
this trammel, men are disposed to defer all agency or interference 
of any higher power, to the last scene of things, to the final 
judgment, to the translation of all human interests to another and 
altogether different world. With the concerns of the present scene, 
they love to associate exclusively an unseen and spiritual super- 
intendence — a superintendence which may amalgamate more 
easily with the views and with the current habits of human 
thought and action; and this habit and disposition in good men, 
perhaps, has done much to strengthen the arm of infidelity, and 
to render the practical authority of Christ in the world like an 
evanescent and powerless speculation. The strong and decisive 
declaration of scripture, that ' By me kings reign, and princes 
decree judgment,' loses all its grasp upon the heart, and the 
practical results of dependence and responsibility are nearly lost 
altogether. The separation of the kingly power of Christ from 
the visible occupany of the throne of this world, seems to afford 
a powerful auxiliary to the workings of ambition, pride and 
infidelity; whereas the real and presiding conviction of his re- 
turn to erect a tribunal of abiding justice upon this earth, would 



SECOND ADVENT AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 221 

go far to awe rebellion of heart into subjection, and to reverse 
the practical estimate of power, influence, distinction and wealth; 
while to transfer the ultimate rectification of good and evil to 
another orb, to a different world, weakens the sanctions of re- 
velation upon the human heart, by throwing- them to a distance. 
We speak of another world; and the atheist, binding down all 
his hopes and fears to the present scene, smiles in scorn at the 
misty and untried futurity. 

In opposition to this mode of thought, I would affirm that the 
expectation of the reign of Jesus Christ upon earth is not un- 
accordant with every rational view of scripture, while it harmo- 
nizes with the history and the analogies of the past dispensations 
of God. 

God has made this planet, and its inhabitants; and they have 
madly rebelled against his authority : they have introduced into 
this once fair scene of happiness, confusion, bloodshed, oppres- 
sion and death; they have exposed themselves to the penalties of 
that law, under which, as dependent creatures, they are bound to 
God. In his consummate wisdom, and unspeakable love, he has 
laid the burden of revolt upon his adorable Son, in due time 
become incarnate. Jesus Christ has died, a voluntary victim, in 
that world and in that nature which had rebelled ; and God has 
constituted him the head of our race, the second Adam, to re- 
trieve the ruin of the first Adam, to expel sin and misery from 
the world, and to reinstate mankind in more than the original 
felicity of their first creation, and this to the praise and glory of 
his immutable attributes of truth and love. The humiliation of 
this Son on the earth is already a matter of fact, a matter of 
historical record as well attested as any other events emblazoned 
on the page of history. And if this humiliation of the Son of God 
to manhood and to death be not a matter of speculation, but of 
history, is it an expectation inconsistent with any knowledge to 
be derived from the past; is it an expectation unwarranted, that 
He who is already become man for the attainment of a gracious 
and precise end, should again appear as man in his higher and 
immortal condition, in order to realize that very end, and to 
restore that portion of his creation which had received so terrific 
an injury, to allegiance and felicity and glory ? I ask whether 
the first fact of his incarnation and death be not a fact correspon- 
dent with the second, and naturally leading to it? Is not the 
human exaltation of Christ the very reasonable sequel of his 
human depression; and whatever agency effected the first, is it 



222 THE CRISIS. 

unreasonable to expect that the same power will effect the second? 

In the retrospect of these facts, it is evident that the intercourse 
of heaven with earth, of God with man, is closely interwoven 
with the whole history of four thousand years. Are not these the 
bright spots of human history, the proofs of divine compassion, 
and the illustration of that ultimate connection of heaven with 
earth, when the anointed Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of 
lords, shall again dwell in our world, not as once in the midst 
of one nation only, but in the wide circle of the whole earth, and 
by the glorious brightness of a personal manifestation? Have not 
eighteen hundred years of unbelief, ingratitude, spiritual misrule, 
persecution, scepticism and infidelity, gone far to obliterate all 
sense of moral obligation in man, and tended to open wider the 
lips of those who scornfully ask, Where is the promise of his 
coming ? For, since the fathers fell asleep, has not this fearful 
abuse of spiritual blessings thrown back to an infinite distance 
from the ordinary responsibilities of life, the steady and im- 
mutable authority of Christ ? May it not, then, with truth, be 
affirmed that the interpretation thus given to the personal reign 
of Christ is analogous to much that hitherto has passed in the 
dispensations of God with man? Is it not, in truth, the manifesta- 
tion in full and actual existence, of that which, in previous days, 
has been exhibited only in type ? 

The brief view thus far taken of the facts connected with the 
final judgment as revealed in the scriptures, will, we trust, justify 
the assertion that the personal reign of Jesus Christ and his saints 
over the earth is in complete analogy with the former reign of 
the Messiah and his angels over the special and limited interests 
of Judea. If now we substitute for the emblem of the Shechinah, 
the personal glory of Emmanuel, and, for the angelic ministrants, 
we substitute the glorified elect, raised to share the felicity of 
their Lord; and if for the limited region of Judea, we substitute 
the wide range of the earth, now become the kingdoms of our 
Lord and of his Christ, we shall have something more than an 
obscure intimation of the nature of the reign to which the saints 
of God are privileged to aspire : "We shall reign on the earth." 
Their high and glorious distinction will be to imitate their Lord 
in his works of mercy and peace to the world. He shall judge 
the world in righteousness, and they shall partake in his peaceful 
legislation; when the wilderness and the solitary places shall be 
glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the 
rose : the Spirit shall be poured upon them from on high. Then 



SECOND ADVENT AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 223 

judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain 
in the fruitful field; and the works of righteousness shall be 
peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance 
forever. "And my people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation, 
and in sure dwellings and in quiet resting places." 

In connection with this view of the kingdom of God, how 
luminous and intelligible become the promises of God ! "You 
shall sit on thrones, judging the tribes of Israel : be thou ruler 
over ten cities; to him that overcometh, will I grant to sit with 
me on my throne." Lord, what is man! thou hast put all things 
under his feet. With what interest do these terms of honour 
and authority now present themselves to our view ! What a noble 
idea of moral excellence, of active usefulness, of zeal for truth 
and charity, becomes associated with the resurrection to life and 
glory! The glory of the redeemed is the glory of Christ; the 
happiness of man, the allegiance of the world to God. Under 
this administration of the glorified humanity, how is illustrated 
at length that angelic song of gratulation, " Glory to God in the 
highest, and on earth peace, good will to men : the reconciliation 
of the world is come ! " 

During many a dark and dreary age, where has peace been 
compelled to dwell ? Despised and scorned, like the ocean weed 
tossed upon restless waves, she has found no place of repose; but 
at length the prophetic voice is realized : mercy and truth are 
met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 
And what is the character of that government which the glorified 
saints will now exercise, as delegated to them by the Great King 
himself : what was his view of power and influence, and authority 
and strength? (See Luke xxii. 24 - 30). 

How lovely is this delineation of power and authority; how 
different from the common estimates of strength, which have 
prevailed on earth ! Seldom are pride and selfishness separated 
from the possession of wealth and influence now ; but in the 
judgments of the Son of God, and in the decisions of his king- 
dom, eminence in power is eminence in humility, superiority in 
command is superiority in beneficence. How high the office, 
how great the glory, how splendid the triumph, how efficient the 
usefulness of that elect and redeemed church, to whom God will 
give power to maintain the earth in peace, and to guard it from 
satanic assaults, and to uphold the cause of religion, the claims 
of truth, and the joys of charity in the world ! Can a nobler 
felicity be imagined, than, in the very presence and under the 



224 THE CRISIS. 

smiles of a redeeming- God, to exercise this dominion over a 
world, once the aceldama of the universe, but now restored as 
the paradise of Eden ? 

A fatal indisposition to connect itself in any direct manner 
with God, seems to be the present condition of the human mind. 
There is little which is disinterested or generous in the popular 
notions of religion — in the feelings which the subject of pro- 
phecy excites in the breast of many. They are ready to hold up 
to ridicule the idea of looking into futurity, with any serious 
expectation as to the result. To what other cause, than to a 
secret repugnance to God's authority, can this be attributed? 
For if God has given a revelation of his will to man, is it not 
reasonable to suppose that such a revelation should throw light 
upon the future, as well as upon the present; and would not a 
religious mind be anxious to gain every possible insight into that 
future ? Why then are men so ready to attach the idea of cre- 
dulity, presumption, or folly, to ail active solicitude as to the 
nature of the events which eternity may conceal ? Under the 
guards of discretion and of earnest prayer, may not an inquiry 
into the future be among the most important subjects to which 
the attention of the mental faculties can be directed ? Is it un- 
reasonable to ask for an honest scrutiny into the subject ? Are 
the scriptures true? Is Christianity a real portraiture of the divine 
will ? Did the Son of God become man ; did he bleed upon the 
cross; did he awake from the grave; did he ascend to glory; 
and did he command his religion to be promulgated, under a 
promise to return to the world in order to judge the quick and 
the dead? Can any man object to this scrutiny, except he secretly 
deny His authority, or despise His grace? I well know that men 
will abet each other in the mad resolve to chase into obscurity 
the claims of God; but I know, on the other hand, that the words 
of God are bright, living, imperishable words, which the allot- 
ments of eternity will confirm. I know that the Redeemer liveth, 
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. 

An essential principle to the successful study of the millenarian 
scheme, is reverence of the Bible, as the inspired testimony of 
God, of what shall be in future, as well as what is already past. 
Let the scriptures be their own interpreter, and not the opinions 
of man. It is not among the demi-infidels of Germany alone that 
the neological spirit prevails : it is prevalent also in our pro- 
testant churches; the only difference being, that where the former 
naturalize away the divine testimony respecting wonders done of 



SECOND ADVENT AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 225 

old, the latter spiritualize it away respecting wonders yet to be 
accomplished. So the (est of a man's reverence for the Bible, is 
the treatment he gives its prophecies : for dependence on what 
shall happen hereafter, he must have the testimony of God only. 
Accordingly I am persuaded that experience and observation 
will largely prove, that a study and reception of unfulfilled pro- 
phecy, in its literal sense, has ever had the effect of increasing 
veneration for all scripture; whereas the spiritualizing system 
has had the effect of un.iermining and diminishing that veneration 
throughout the whole of its contents. I must be allowed, at least, 
to declare my own experience for more than half a century. 

To the foregoing, I would add a few additional considerations: 
First is the internal evidence which the promise of a personal 
advent is calculated to afford to a mind which had previously 
doubted the truth of the scriptures, and even of natural religion. 

Suppose a book, written in a character wholly unintelligible 
to me, were placed in my hands, and an assurance at the same 
time given that this book would clear up things, and account for 
matters which had before presented to my mind only difficulties 
and darkness. Wholly unable to decipher it myself, I apply to 
two persons, each professedly acquainted with the language : 
the} r both present me with their translations. In the one I find 
nothing but matter questionable to my understanding, and ir- 
relevant as to any points on which I needed information : it 
elucidates no subject on which I wanted light; it leaves me in 
the same difficulties that I felt before. What, then, must be my 
conclusion? Why, that if this be the right translation, the book 
in question is not what it was said to be. 

The other translation appears to me to be plain and consistent, 
since it addresses itself at once t- < subjects deeply interesting to 
my mind : it clears up doubts which harassed me before. What, 
then, is the natural inference here? Why, if this latter be the 
right translation, I hold in my hand a document of inestimable 
value. 

Now apply this principle to the case before us : that of one 
who doubts the truth of scripture, and to whom the whole scheme 
of prophecy presents nothing but a mass of incoherence and 
confusion. Nevertheless, this book, wholly unintelligible to him, 
claims to be a revelation from God; and while its contents seem 
thus wrapped in darkness, two classes of expounders offer them- 
selves to his notice. They both say, We have examined this re- 
cord, and here is the result of our inquiry. Now it is my firm 
15 



226 



THE CRISIS. 



conviction that the advocate of the personal appearance of Christ, 
with all his saints, would present to such a mind a scheme cal- 
culated to vindicate the ways of Providence; nay, to prove, 
where it has been doubted before, the existence of a God : while, 
on the other hand, it is my belief that the assertors of a spiritual 
millennium open a field of expectation in every way ill suited to 
arrest the attention, or answer the objections of the infidel. 

There is nothing which tries men's faith, or rather which 
banishes the very principle from their minds, so much as the 
want of some palpable evidence of a supernatural power. Nor is 
this want felt to be merely a defect of evidence in favour of its 
existence : it is often taken as evidence against it. Why the 
Creator and Ruler of this world should dwell in light inaccessible 
to his creatures; why he should leave to their own guidance a 
race of beings, whose whole history proves them incompetent to 
the task; why he should thus withdraw himself from man, whose 
circumstances and wants call for the interposition of some higher 
nature, as the greatest of all conceivable blessings; why this 
should be the arrangement of infinite goodness, power and wis- 
dom, if there exists a being in whom these attributes reside, is 
a question which has puzzled and confounded multitudes, who 
hold their peace upon this subject. If these doubts do not more 
frequently occur, it is attributable merely to the stupid indifference 
which the many feel towards every elevated consideration. Ne- 
vertheless amongst the few who think and reason upon such things, 
all, except the still fewer whose minds are spiritually enlightened, 
are, I believe, more sceptical as to the fundamental truth of 
religion than is generally imagined. The outward profession of 
Christianity imposes a restraint on their words : each man keeps 
his own secret, and knows not that his neighbour entertains the 
same doubts that he doe? himself. If these doubts terminated in a 
settled conviction that the objects of faith had no reality, then 
men would speak out; but few arrive at this conclusion : they 
shrink from any overt act of disobedience to that authority which 
commands them to believe. Nevertheless the suppression is not 
the removal of these doubts : their silent whispers still are heard; 
and it is the nature of the doubt adverted to, to feed upon itself. 
Why does not God manifest himself to his own world? — These 
tilings also tally with my long experience. 

Now it appears to me that the doctrine of the personal advent 
of Christ is admirably calculated, in these respects, to satisfy the 
doubting mind, and to meet its natural requisitions. The inter- 



SECOND ADVEMT AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 227 

pretation of prophecy given by its assertors, carries to the un- 
derstanding internal evidence of its truth, inasmuch as it vindi- 
cates the ways of God to man. It discovers to the mind that the 
desire of all nations will yet be accomplished, and the call of the 
creature will be answered by the Creator : it declares that this 
world of rational souls will not always be left without a ruler 
whose tribunal is accessible; without a leader who can guide 
them with confidence, and whose voice none can misinterpret, 
when he says, Lo, this is the way : walk ye in it. Is not such a 
dispensation, I ask, devoutly to be desired ? Would it not be an 
unspeakable benefit and blessing to mankind? Is it not, in the 
nature of things, a rational supposition, and, previously to all 
experience, to be expected, that if God were to create a race of 
accountable beings, he would clearly show them the authority to 
which they owed subjection, and give them free access to the 
sovereign whom it was their duty to obey? What I contend for, 
then, is, that since interpreters of prophecy are so divided on the 
point whether the Great God and Saviour is or is not to appear 
and reign upon the earth, there is much in the reason of the case 
to favour those whose interpretation produces a result so cheering 
to the hopes of man, and so satisfactory to the mind, as it re- 
spects the character of God, and of his government of this lower 
world. 

In the very constitution of governments, monarchical, for 
instance, there are marks which strongly indicate that something 
more than man is wanting to fill the throne. Every expedient is 
resorted to, to array the monarch in superhuman characters : the 
titles which belong to God only, are solemnly applied to him : 
he is encircled with pomps, shows, and ceremonies.; every thing 
which art can devise is resorted to, to distinguish him from 
others, and to disguise the fact that the king and his subjects are 
partakers of a common nature. In short, the great object is to 
dress up a man, to act the part of one who belongs not to the 
human, but to a higher nature. As to the determinations of the 
law or constitution concerning him, three oi these at least do not 
belong to man : First, the king is the fountain of all honour; 
whereas the scripture saith, How can ye believe, who receive 
honour one of another, and seek not the honour which cometh 
from God only? Secondly, the king can do no wrong; whereas 
the scripture saith, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive 
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Thirdly, the king never 
dies; whereas the scripture saith, It is appointed unto all men 



228 THE CRISIS. 

once to die. Now take all these considerations together, and da 
they not prove that there is a general sense and confession upon 
the part of mankind, that their case requires, and their circum- 
stances call for, the manifestation of some superhuman power? 
For what are their circumstances now ? Without any natural 
superior to guide or to controul them, they take from their own 
weakness and corruption one whom they dress in attributes, which 
nothing but the necessity of the case can acquit of blasphemy 
and idolatry. What then can be more reasonable in itself, or more 
answerable to that general law of nature by which all tendencies 
denote the actual existence of some object to which they tend, 
than the accession to the universal empire of the earth of such a 
sovereign as the second advent promises ? 

This glorious expectation may perhaps account for what would 
be otherwise unaccountable in the history of the human mind : 
I mean, the passion of loyalty. I say passion, because loyalty, as 
a principle, has its sure foundation in the Word of God. 

It seems to me, that, from time to time, the Almighty has 
brought the mind of man under the operation of powerful in- 
fluences, which cannot be traced to merely natural causes, and 
which consequently must have been especially imparted to serve 
some holy purposes of Providence. There was a period of the 
world, when loyalty or patriotism was the master passion of 
man's soul; but I cannot conceive that a principle so intense, so 
absorbing, has any legitimate foundation in man's nature. 

Patriotism, then, as a ruling passion, can be explained on no 
natural principle, and must be referred to the overruling will of 
God. Considering, then, that the Jewish dispensation was strictly 
and essentially national, it might have pleased Providence, during 
its continuance, to impart to the human mind that principle, 
whose operation binds the national compact with peculiar tenacity 
and force; but that the very passion which was the cement of the 
Jewish economy should have lived during the continuance of that 
dispensation, and died off as its termination approached, is a fact 
which cannot but appear remarkable to those who are in the 
habit of studying the philosophy of history. 

The warm and heartfelt patriotism and loyalty of which I 
speak, was altogether unconnected with expediency : it embraced 
the object of its attachment for its own sake; it considered, and 
to do so was its very essence, the people as belonging to the 
king, and not the king to the people. Now I can only say, as to 
its final cause, it may have pleased God, for purposes of his own, 



SECOND ADVENT AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST. 229 

to impart a secret intimation that a prince is to arise in the latter 
days, to whom this deep attachment of the soul wdl be justly 
due; that a king is to ascend the throne of universal empire, in 
whose reign this devoted loyalty will no longer be a blind and 
headlong instinct, but will identify with our high allegiance to 
God, and fulfil the first and greatest commandment of loving him 
with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. 

To those whose mental associations accord with these views of 
the spiritual victories of Christ, his visible and coming glory 
will be an influential theme of meditation and joy. Amidst the 
conflicts of oppression, amidst the tears of suffering, the mistakes 
of the ignorant and the blasphemies of the proud, the spiritual 
mind will anticipate a glorious, though still a terrestrial state, in 
which evil will have no place, and happiness be exposed to no 
temptation; in which mind mingling with mind, and enlarging 
its knowledge under every new facility for truth, will yield itself 
up to those intellectual revelations, to that everlasting sunlight of 
the soul, in which the truly wise will enjoy the presence of their 
Lord through the periods of a blissful eternity. 

And here I must repeat again the woids of a learned pious 
irillenarian : "If," says he, "the reign of Christ be not first 
within our renewed souls, we shall never share it in a renewed 
ivorld. If He legislate not over our passions and our affections, 
Ne shall never bear rule in the regions of His rescued earth. If 
jod the Holy Ghost regenerate not our hearts, He will never 
•egenerate our bodies. Our conformity to Christ must be entire. 
We must first be crucified, ere we can be glorified. His sceptre 
nust be in our hearts, ere His crown can rest upon our head." 



" Oh ! loved, but not enough, though dearer far 
Than self and its most loved enjoyments are : 
None duly loves thee, but who, nobly free 
From sensual objects, finds his all in thee. 

Glorious Almighty ! first and without end, 
When wilt thou melt the mountains, and descend? 
When wilt thou shoot abroad thy conquering rays, 
And teach these atoms thou hast formed thy praise ? 



My soul ! rest happy in thy low estate, 
Nor hope nor wish to be esteemed as great 



230 THE CRISIS. 

To take the impression of a will divine, 
Be that thy glory, and those riches thine. 

Confess Him righteous in His just decrees; 

Love what He loves, and let His pleasure please. 

Die daily : from the touch of sin recede ; 

Then thou hast crowned Him, and He reigns indeed. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



ON THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 

The first resurrection, and the character and privileges of those who shall partake 

of it. 

" Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on 
such the second death hath no power ; but they shall be priests 
of Gotl and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" 
(Rev. xx. 6). 

The book from whence these words are taken, is that with 
which the canon of scripture is closed. A blessing- is pronounced 
on those who hear, and read, and keep its sayings : a curse is 
pronounced upon any one who adds to them, or takes from them 
(Rev. xxii. 18, 19). It is the last revelation of the Lord Jesus 
Christ himself to his beloved disciple, concerning; things which 
should be hereafter, until the world, as it now is, should pass away, 
and time itself should be no more. These few circumstances, and 
many others which might be mentioned, ought to render it 
deeply interesting to the christian. So many of the events fore- 
told in the former chapters of the book have already occurred 
in the different ages to which they relate, that in proportion as 
persons have attentively studied this part of sacred writ in con- 
nection with the history ot the church and the world, in the same 
degree have they been led to admire and adore the inscrutable 
wisdom of its author. From this fact, we derive an infallible as- 
surance that those further predictions which regard our own 
times, and the latter days of the world, will as certainly be ful- 
filled in their season. 

The passage at the head of this article relates to what shall 
take place in the last times; when the judgments shall be poured 
out upon the beast, the false prophet, and the last antichrist, 
which is believed to be now maturing in the church, yes, even 
in the protestant church; when all the wicked and unbelieving, 



232 THE CRISIS. 

as well as perverters of the truth, shall be exterminated from 
the earth; when Satan himself shall have been bound and cast 
into the pit, and the kingdom of the Redeemer be universally 
established. This is manifest from the context. 

In the 19th and following verses of the preceding chapter, 
we are presented with an account of the destiuction of those 
enemies of God in the great battles of the last day. " And I saw 
the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered 
together to make war against him that sat on Ihe horse, and 
against his army; and the beast was taken, and with him the 
false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he 
deceived him that had received the mark of the beast, and them 
that worshipped his image; and these both were cast alive into 
the lake of fire burning with brimstone, and the remnant were 
slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword 
proceeded out of his mouth, and all fowls were filled with their 
flesh." 

In the 20th chapter, we have a description of the binding of 
Satan. " And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having 
the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand; 
and h • laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the 
devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him 
into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him 
that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand 
years should be fulfilled ; and after that he must be loosed a 
little season." 

At the 4th verse, we read of the establishment of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom, and the reign of his saints. " And I saw 
thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given 
unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the 
witness of Jesus, and for the word of God. and which had not 
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his 
mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years" 

Now comes the passage we commenced with, after saying, 
" But the rest of the dead lived again until the thousand years 
were finished : this is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is 
he that hath part in the tirst resurrection : on such the second 
death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of 
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." 

Let us here inquire, What are we to understand by the first 
resurrection ? It is unquestionably true that a spirtual change is 



FIRST RESURRECTION. 233 

wrought here on earth in the souls of all the people of God, 
which in scripture is figuratively called a resurrection of every 
sinner who is truly converted to God by the power of his spirit. 
It may be affirmed as well as of the Ephesians, <: You hath he 
quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Kph. ii. 1). 
Our Lord himself declared, of all those who were enabled truly 
to believe on his name, that they had passed from death unto 
life. All that have, through grace, become penitent and obedient 
believers in Jesus, are said to be risen with him; and, on this 
very account, are exhorted to seek those things which are above, 
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God (Col. iii. 1,. Of 
the spiritu.il resurrection, therefore, of sinners ftom a dea'h in 
sin to a life of faith and holiness, when they are brought into 
union with the Saviour, and to a participation of the blessings of 
his gospel, there can be no doubt; but of this the Holy Ghost is 
not speaking, in the words of the text. He is rather prophetically 
declaring what shall come to pass at a period marked out in the 
dispensations of the Almighty, with respect to all those who have 
been thus quickened by his Spirit, working in due season. He is 
evidently speaking, in this passage, not of a figurative, but of a 
literal resurrection. The more minutely the context is examined, 
the more clearly must it appear. It is well known, indeed, that 
many have laboured hard to prove, had it been possible, that 
John speaks figuratively, in this place, of a more extensive dif- 
fusion of spiritual religion in the world; but I am compelled to 
declare that it is but the opinion of man, and not the word of 
God as revealed in the holy scripture. The apostle speaks, une- 
quivocally, of what he calls the first resurrection, which should 
occur at the time when Jesus should come to establish his king- 
dom in glory. The first resurrection must therefore be of the same 
nature as the second and last, mentioned at the close of the chapter, 
namely, a literal one; for it is in relation to this, that it is de- 
signated the first. It is, moreover, plainly intimated to us in 
other parts of the sacred volume, that there shall be two resur- 
rections, one of the just, and the other of the unjust; and the 
one shall precede the other, and take place at the second coming 
of our Lord. 

It will be necesssary to attend to a few of those passages, in 
order to confirm the truth of what has been asserted; and here 
we naturally turn to I. Cor. xv. which relates almost entirely to 
the resurrection of the dead. If there be literally a resurrection 
of the saints, which is to precede the resurrection of the wicked, 
15* 



234 THE CRISIS. 

and is therefore called by John the first resurrection, we should 
expect to find some intimation of so interesting- a fact in this 
chapter, which has so especial a reference to the suhject at large. 
In the 22d verse, then, the apostle declares generally the cer- 
tainty of the resurrection; the resurrection of all the children of 
Adam : " As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
made alive." There shall be a resurrection of all; but in what 
order, and at what time, he partly tells in the next verse. " But 
every man in his own order : Christ the first fruits; afterwards, 
they that are Christ's." But when is this to be ? He adds, " At 
his coming." Here, then, we learn, that sooner or later there 
shall be an universal resurrection; but this is the order : First, 
Jesus, the forerunner; and then, at his second coming, they that 
are his. Of the time when the unju>t shall be raised, nothing is 
said in this chapter, beyond the certainty of the event. 

In the fourth chapter of I. Thessalonians, the apostle comforts 
the spiritual people of Christ, concerning their friends who had 
fallen asleep in Jesus, and, in doing this, he again confirms the 
fact which we would establish. " But I would not have you to 
be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that 
ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we be- 
lieve that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which 
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him; for this we say unto 
you, by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive, and re- 
main unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which 
are asleep; for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with 
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of 
God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first." 

Here, then, is apparently the very same first resurrection 
spoken of by John, as taking place at the coming of Christ; for 
although the word first, in this place, should be understood in 
relation to the resurrection of the dead saints before the living 
ones are caught up into the air, yet it is certain there is no re- 
surrection alluded to except that of those who are called the 
dead in Christ. In both these passages, Paul assuredly speaks of 
a literal resurrection of the saints; and this is sufficient to con- 
vince us that John is also to be understood according to the plain 
meaning of his words in the chapter whence the text is taken. 

Let us now consider the time and circumstances of this resur- 
rection; and with respect to the time of it, we are here taught 
that it will take place at the commencement, and not at the close 
of the millennium, or that period designated as a thousand years, 



FIRST RESURRECTION. 235 

during which the kingdom of Christ is to flourish in perfect pu- 
rity, uninterrupted tranquility, and exceeding glory. The apostle 
had seen Satan bound and cast into the pit, to rise no more till 
the thousand years were finished; and he immediately bfheld 
the resurrection of the faithful, who, he expressly says, lived 
and reigned with Christ a thousand years, while the rest of the 
dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. And 
with regard to the circumstances of it, it is equally manifest that 
it will be preceded by the personal coming and appearance of 
the Saviour in his glory. The spiritual reign of Christ is included 
between the time of his triumphant ascension into heaven, and 
his coming again from thence in like manner. During that pe- 
riod, he has reigned, and will reign invisibly in the hearts of his 
people; but scripture abundantly testifies that he shall at length 
appear in person, to reign visibly and gloriously over his church. 
This is, as I apprehend, the period when the prayer of the suf- 
fering Saviour to his Father, in John xviii. 5, will be fully an- 
swered; and that glory of the God-man which was in the eternal 
purpose of God, reached forward to the time when he should 
reign visibly and gloriously over the world, and all enemies put 
under his feet. Then it is that he shall see his seed : he shall 
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord prospers under 
his glorious and righteous administration. 

An accurate study of scripture, in reference to this subject, 
would shew the attentive reader, that the second advent of Christ 
is to be synchronical not only with the first resurrection of the 
dead, and the rapture of the living saints, but with the fall of 
Babylon, the restoration of the Jews, the destruction of all anti- 
christian powers, and the conversion of the world. In the pre- 
ceding chapter, therefore, there is a most magnificent description 
of his personal appearance, before the first resurrection actually 
commences. " And I saw heaven opened, and, behold, a white 
horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and 
in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as 
a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had 
a name written, that no man knew but he himself; and he was 
clothed with a vesture dipped in blood (the blood of his enemies, 
not his own blood), and his name is called the Word of God. 
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white 
horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean; and out of his 
mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the na- 
tions; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth 



236 THE CRISIS. 

the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And 
he hath on his vesture, and on his thigh, a name written, King 
of kings, and Lord of lords." Such will be his title when he 
appears in his glory, because he will not only take vengeance on 
his enemies, but he will establish his kingdom on the ruins of 
the kingdom of Satan. And then will the voice be heard, saying, 
" The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our 
Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.' , 
The coming, the appearance, and the kingdom of Christ, are 
therefore in scripture often mentioned together. Thus in II. 
Timothy iv. 1, Paul charges him before God and the Lord Jesus 
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing 
and his kingdom. Daniel, in the 7th chapter, has at the same 
period a vision of the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, 
and receiving dominion and glory, and a kingdom; and in the 
27th verse, he adds, in perfect harmony with the description of 
John, that the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people 
of the saints of the Most High. 

It is to be remarked, that this will be the time for the reunion 
of the souls and bodies of the faithful. The exact place where 
the souls of them that have departed hence in the Lord, are in 
joy and felicity, until this period arrives, is not plainly revealed. 
That they have departed, to be with Christ, is most certain; for 
when absent from the body, they are present with the Lord (II. 
Cor. v. 8); but still they have not their perfect consummation 
and bliss, while their bodies lie mouldering in the dust. " But as 
the spirits of the just are with Christ now, so shall they be with 
him, when he comes" (I. Thess. iii. 12, 13). Paul prays that 
they might increase and abound in love one towards another, 
and towards all men, to the end that their hearts might be esta- 
blished unblameable in holiness before God even our Father, at 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints; and 
Enoch, as Jude informs us, " Behold the Lord comelh with ten 
thousand of his saints." Moreover, as their immortal souls shall 
be brought with him, so that part which is dead because of sin, 
shall be raised. " For this is the Father's will which hath sent 
me," said Jesus, "that of all which he hath given me, 1 should 
lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day" (John vi. 
39). And this redemption of the body (Rom. viii. 23 ) is the 
fir>t resurrection; for the souls which never die (John xi. 26), 
can not, in this literal sense, be raised from the dead. 



FIRST RESURRECTION. 237 

Now then it is that those who, while on earth, have had their 
conversation in heaven, from whence they have looked for the 
Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, shall have their vile bodies not 
only raised, but changed, that they may be fashioned like unto 
his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able 
to subdue all things unto himself (Phil, iii 20, 21). Then it is, 
with respect to those who are Christ's at his coming, that that 
which was sown in corruption, is raised in incorruption; that 
which was sown in dishonour, is raised in glory; that which was 
sown in weakness, is raised in power; that which was sown a 
natural body, is raised a spiritual body : for flesh and blood (as 
it now is) can not inherit the kingdom of God first (I. Cor. xv. 
42, 44, 50). 

We presume not to enter into the subject, in the least degree, 
beyond what God hath revealed concerning it. He assured us 
that there will be, at this lime, a most awful destruction of the 
present scene of things, by that fire which will purify while it 
consumes; that when that day, which is with the Lord as a thou- 
sand years, shall come as a thief in the night, the heavens will 
pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with 
fervent heat; the earth, also, and the works that are therein, 
shall be burned up. Nevertheless, all shall not be made an end 
of. If all the wicked workers on the earth are destroyed, then of 
course all their wicked works will cease, and the world will be 
prepared for a universal reign of righteousness : this will usher 
in the millennial period " But we, according to his promise, look 
for new heavens, and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteous- 
ness" (II. Peter iii. 10- 13). The great outline is clear : the 
kingdom is to be under the heavens, and the redeemed are to 
reign with Christ on the earth; but the particular circumstances 
of this state are not to be too curiously ina x uired into, as the event 
alone can explain them. Of one thing, however, we are sure, 
that the kingdom will consist only of the just, and that the rest 
of the dead will not be raised for final judgment, until this glo- 
rious period shall be ended. With these the text makes us fully 
acquainted : " Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection : on such the second dralh hath no power; but they 
shall be priests of (»od and of Christ, and shall reign with him 
a thousand years." All the children of this resurrection shall be 
holy : holy in every sense of the expression; holy, as having 
been separated in the eternal counsel of the Father, to be his 
sons and daughters, inheritors of the kingdom prepared for them 



238 THE CRISIS. 

from before the foundation of the world; holy, as having been 
redeemed by the death, washed in the blood, and clothed in the 
righteousness of the Lamb of God; holy, as having been called 
in time by his g< ace, regenerated and sanctified by his spirit, 
and made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light; holy, as 
having now entirely laid aside their body of sin and death, being 
altogether renewed in the image of God, and made perfectly 
like unto that Jesus whom they shall now see as he is. It shall 
be a kingdom of holiness; a holy Saviour, and a holy people. 
" There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, 
neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but 
they which are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev. xxi. 
27). i\one else will be there; but, blessed be God, their num- 
ber will be great, for they will be gathered out of all nations 
and kindreds and people and tongues. And there will be a voice 
as of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia; for the Lord God 
omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. xix. 6). (Let it still be borne in 
mind, that all the workers of iniquity, together with their works, 
have been destroyed.) And how exalted will be their privileges ! 
They will not only be holy, but blessed; they will be the seed 
whom the Lord from the beginning hath blessed; they will be 
the blessed of the Father, for whom the kingdom has been pre- 
pared; they will be blessed because, as priests of God and of 
Christ, they will reign with him in a kingdom of blessedness, in 
a kingdom where there shall be no more curse, for the throne of 
God and of the Lamb shall be there; in a kingdom where they 
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; where there shall 
be no more night; where God shall wipe away all tears from 
their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor 
crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former 
things shall have passed away. And this privilege also shall be 
theirs, that the second death shall have no power over them. 

According to the views of the learned Mr. Meade, the sen- 
tence of absolution, as described in Matthew xxv., is addressed 
to the saints during the whole of the millennium, while the Son 
of man sits upon the t'.rone of his tflory ; and that being finished, 
the final judgment and condemnation of the wicked is pronounced. 
Now it is, according to the testimony of John, that the fearful 
and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore- 
mongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have 
their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, 
which is the second death; and now also shall death and hell 



FIRST RESURRECTION. 



239 



be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and this is also the 
second death. Beyond this we can not advance : we can only- 
reply, in the language of inspiration, that when Jesus shall thus 
have reigned in his mediatorial glory until all things shall be 
subdued unto him, then cometh the end when he shall deliver 
up the kingdom to God even the Father (I. Cor. xv. 24). 

Such, then, is the first resurrection, and such the character 
and privileges of those that partake of it. Surely, my brethren, 
the application of this subject I trust is already made in your 
hearts; but unless the Lord Jesus reign spiritually and predomi- 
nantly in your hearts while you are here, your hopes are falla- 
cious; for it is only the subjects of the kingdom of grace, that 
shall be the subjects of the kingdom of glory. 

What are the conflicts and trials of the christian, whether in- 
ward or outward ? What is the pain of mortifying the deeds of 
the body, and crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts; of 
cutting off the right hand, and plucking out the right eye ? What 
are all these sufferings, which are but for a moment ? I reckon 
that they are not worthy to be compared with the glory which 
shall be revealed in us. 

The truths which have now been brought before you, were 
the doctrines of the three first centuries of Christianity; and so 
firmly were they believed in the primitive church, that the ser- 
vants of Christ at that time not only disregarded sufferings for 
his sake, but even courted martyrdom itself; not accepting de- 
liverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. It was 
afterwards obscured and abused by sensual and turbulent fana- 
tics; but it is now rising with fresh glory upon the church, and, 
as Bishop Newton observes, will flourish with the study of the 
Revelation. 

We should not be surprised at its revival, when the words of 
scripture so powerfully unite with the signs of the times in pro- 
claiming that this kingdom of Christ is at hand, although it is 
not given to us to know the day or the year when the Son of 
man shall come to set up his kingdom; but if we discern not 
the signs of the times, we are no better than hypocrites. Have 
we no plagues, pestilences, wars and bloodshed in the natural 
world; discontent, disaffection and tumult in the political world; 
and heresy, infidelity and blasphemy in the moral and religious 
world ? And do we not recognize the symptoms, so minutely 
pointed out by our Lord as preceding his coming in the clouds 
of heaven with power and great glory ? As it was in the days 



240 THE CRISIS. 

of Noah, and as it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be with 
the great majority of the world at the second advent of our Lord. 

APPLICATION. 

The first duties, then, incumbent on believers, as the day of 
the Lord draweth nigh, are sobriety, watchfulness and prayer. 
Take heed to yourselves, lest at any times your hearts be over- 
charged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this 
life, and so that day come upon you unawares. Be more than 
ever upon your guard against the wiles of the devil; for now 
we expect false christs, false prophets, who shall shew great signs 
and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive 
the very elect. Watch, therefore, and pray always, that ye may 
be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come 
to pass, and to stand before the Son of man (Mat. xxiv. 24; 
Luke xxi. 36). Endeavour to keep alive in your hearts a joyful 
and abiding expectation of the second coming of your Lord : 
this is repeatedly pointed out, as a distinguishing mark of the true 
disciple of the Lamb. Let it be seen that you are among those 
who are looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day 
of God, that you stand accepted with the Beloved. 

To conclude, this midnight cry is now heard from a thousand 
voices : " Behold, the Bridegroom cometh !" He comes in the 
clouds of flaming fire, with all his mighty angels, taking ven- 
geance. But who may abide the day of his coming ? Not the 
unbelieving and impenitent : they shall suddenly be destroyed, 
and that without remedy. Not the hypocrite and the formalist : 
roused from their fatal delusions when it is too late, like the 
foolLsh virgins, they shall find the gates of mercy forever closed 
against them. Who shall stand when he appeareth ? They only 
who wait for him, and who love his appearing and his kingdom. 
Go ye out to meet him : shake off the lethargy with which you 
are oppressed : gird your loins : trim your lamps; keep them 
ever burning and shining. Be watchful, be sober, and hope 
unto the end, for the grace which shall be brought unto you at 
the revelation of Jesus Christ. Behold, he cometh in the clouds 
of glory ! Prepare, my soul, to meet him ! 



APPExNDIX. 



NO. I. 

The following article was published in the Religious 
Monitor in 1831, as a brief view of the author's religious 
sentiments. 

To the Editor of the Religious Monitor. 
Sir — The following I find in my memorandum book, written some 
twelve or fifteen years since If you deem it worthy a place in your 
useful Magazine, you are at liberty to make such use of it. 

Albany, December, 1831. E. Putnam. 

THOUGHTS ON THE EXTENT AND CERTAINTY OF SALVATION. 

As man, by transgression, had violated an infinitely holy and 
righteous law, which is eternal in its binding force upon its 
subjects, and which could not be repealed or abrogated without 
the impeachment of the Lawgiver, his eternal destruction was 
inevitable, unless a surety could be found of sufficient dignity of 
character to fulfil all its demands, both of obedience and of suf- 
fering in his room and stead. The justice of God could be satisfied 
with nothing short of the holy, spotless life and blood of the 
surety; and with that it was fully satisfied, when Jesus Christ 
exclaimed "It is finished," and expired on the cross. 

Now we may ask what it was that was finished? when Christ 
uttered that exclamation, and bowed his head and gave up the 
ghost. Was nothing more effected by this solemn and tragic 
scene, than the satisfaction of the justice of God for his violated 
law abstractly considered? Do not the scriptures unformly teach 
us that the whole work of redemption, as a sure and unfailing 
ground of salvation, was fully completed by the sacrifice of Christ, 
"so that there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin?" 

Now if this finished work of redemption embraced all 
mankind without exception; and if notwithstanding some men 

16 



242 APPENDIX. 

shall die in their sins, under the curse of God's law, and perish 
eternally, will not this be taking pay twice for the same offence? 
Does not such a position set the divine attributes at war with each 
other? The covenant of grace includes only the heirs of salvation. 
The paschal lamb was not slain for the egyptians, but for the 
people of God; and therefore says the apostle, alluding to this 
type, "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us, or for believers" 
(John 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 26, 28, &c). The ark could un- 
doubtedly have saved more from the flood, had they entered into 
it. God was pleased to ordain not many arks, but one only, and 
by that one to deliver his chosen few : a striking representation 
of that remnant of whom the great author of the covenant says, 
"They shall be my people, and I will be their God." 

When God had fixed upon the method of man's recovery from 
the ruin of the fall ( we may be sure he would never promote 
his salvation in a way injurious to his divine perfections), he 
proposed to deliver sinners in a way, in which his absolute so- 
vereignty, his free grace, his inflexible justice, his unsearchable 
wisdom, his unchangeable truth, his unspotted holiness, his al- 
mighty power, his goodness and his mercy, might all harmonize 
and be equally glorified. In this way the salvation of his elect by 
Christ Jesus is obtained. Moreover he designed, in the appoint- 
ment of his Son to be the Redeemer of men, and in publishing 
the glad tidings of great joy which the everlasting gospel con- 
tains, to humble fallen, guilty man, to exalt Christ the mediator, 
and to promote holiness. The scripture nowhere speaks of a 
conditional or uncertain redemption, depending on the will of 
fallen man as to all its salutary effects. It is contrary both to 
reason and scripture, that Christ left salvation depending upon 
man's own will which had ruined him in his best estate. Could 
Christ expect that the intention of his dealh would be carried into 
effect in such a way? Will the fallen creature take more pains to 
secure the good effects of his death, than the sufferer and Saviour 
himself? How inconsistent and absurd must it be for Christ to 
exercise the greatest love towards, and inflict the greatest wrath 
upon, the same persons at the same time; as must have been the 
case, if in his infinite love he died to redeem all men — multi- 
tudes being in hell, suffering his vengeance, at the same time he 
loved them and gave himself for them ! Is it not revolting to 
reason and common sense, to say that the saved are no more 
beholden to the Redeemer than the damned ? And yet this must 
be true, if Christ loved and died for all men without exception. 



EXTENT AND CERTAINTY OF SALVATION. 243 

This is nothing less than charging God with taking double satis- 
faction for the same offence : one from Christ, the surety; and 
another from the damned themselves. 

But justice, being once fully satisfied in the person of the 
Mediator, has nothing but blessings for God's people. It cannot 
exact the penalty twice : not one of the redeemed of the Lord 
shall ever taste of that eternal death which he tasted for every 
one of them. Jesus, in the great and glorious work of redemption, 
made a precise purchase, for which he paid a precise sum ; un- 
less we can suppose that he undertook, without counting the cost, 
and therefore failed in the undertaking, by making a more foolish 
bargain than a simple man : the very supposition of which is 
nothing short of blasphemy. Christ is abundantly able to keep all 
that he has purchased with his blood. Hence he says to all his 
people, "Ye are not your own; ye are bought with a price, 
even the precious blood of the Son of God." Would a common 
shepherd purchase a portion for the wolves? And will Christ the 
Great Shepherd and bishop of souls, who knows every spiritual 
wolf, and can detect and defeat all their devices, and who has 
promised to protect his sheep, suffer the objects of his choice to 
perish? The promise of divine aid was given to the spiritual seed 
of Abraham, "and to all that are afar off, even to as many as 
the Lord our God shall call." This donation of grace is co- 
extensive with his purpose : it extends to all his people that are 
afar off in point of time, or place, or disposition of soul; they 
all meet in the one Eternal Spirit, and are brought nigh by the 
blood of Christ. 

To suppose that God wills any thing that he doth not fully 
accomplish, is to call in question his power to perform it, as will 
and power in God are inseparable and efficient attributes ; al- 
though by the arminian heresy, I am aware that Christ, as God, 
is represented as willing and desiring the salvation of some, who, 
notwithstanding his will and desire, do never obtain salvation. 
Hence it follows that Christ either hath not power to accomplish 
what he wills shall be accomplished ; or that he can will the 
accomplishment of a good thing, without ever exerting his power 
to accomplish it. To suppose the one, is to substitute impotence 
for Omnipotence, and so to undeify him; and to assert the other, 
is to rob him of his goodness, at the express violation of his truth; 
and, upon this principle, the all wise God is represented as work- 
ing without having any design, and willing without producing 
any determined effect. Nay more, the attainment of his own will 



244 APPENDIX. 

depends upon the wills of his creatures; and so the Almighty 
agent of all good must wait, in his operations, upon a set of 
beings who of themselves can will and do nothing but evil, and 
that continually. If these things be so, where is the immutability 
of his promises? If the fulfilment of them wholly depends upon 
the will of his depraved, helpless creatures, then it would indeed 
follow, as some pretend, that a person can fall from saving grace, 
once bestowed, and finally perish. And the absurdity will not 
stop here; for why may he not fall from glory also? Is not the 
same Almighty power as much pledged to keep and preserve in 
the one case as in the other? Truly if the God of the arminians, 
unitarians and such heretics, who is dependent on the will of his 
creatures, who has no fixed plan of procedure in relation to 
man's salvation, whose designs are so often defeated by man's 
obstinate rejection of Christ; if, I say, such a God shall ever 
obtain the government, then the very ground of the christian's 
faith is swept away, and we have no security that the blessed in 
heaven and the damned in hell will not, at some future period, 
be obliged to exchange places; and how often this may take 
place, the abettors of such sentiments ought to know. 

But the elect of God, the chosen in Christ, are not left to the 
exercise of a will naturally perverted, to begin life; nor to the 
exercise of a power altogether debilitated and depraved, to pre- 
serve it. "The life they live in the flesh, is by the faith of the 
Son of God;" and that faith is the result of a divine operation. 
They are also "kept through faith unto salvation." It consequent- 
ly follows, that not one of them shall perish, but all shall finally 
and eternally be saved. "God hath chosen them from the be- 
ginning;" not for a day or a year or a time, but to a salvation 
which can afford "everlasting consolation and good hope through 
grace." God simply and unchangeably wills, and all the divine 
attributes are concerned in the accomplishment of what he wills 
— his wisdom which cannot err, his knowledge which cannot be 
denied, his truth which cannot fail, his love which nothing can 
alienate, his justice which cannot condemn any for whom Christ 
died, his power which none can resist, and his unchangeableness 
which can never vary : therefore the salvation of all the re- 
deemed is certain without a peradventure. 

Christ, in scripture, is called our Redeemer : he came, not 
only to honour the law, by obeying its precepts and suffering its 
penalty; there was far more intended; he came to recover a lost 
inheritance. The people of God are his inheritance. "Jacob is 



EXTENT AND CERTAINTY OF SALVATION. 245 

the lot of his inheritance." To this the apostle alludes, when he 
says, "God sent forth his Son made of woman, made under the 
law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might 
receive the adoption of sons." Again, "Christ has obtained the 
eternal redemption lor us." He came, then, to recover our lost 
inheritance of purity and happiness, and to reinstate us in the 
everlasting- possession of the favour of God. 

Christ, from eternity, sat down and counted the cost of ac- 
complishing- the designs of salvation; and therefore is not, like 
foolish architects, beginning to build without an estimate, and 
leaving off without ability to finish. "Jehovah is the rock, and 
his work is perfect." The truth of God is, like his mercy, en- 
during for ever; and against his chosen, the gates of error, of 
hell, can never prevail. Rich, free, and sovereign grace was in 
all his designs, and eternal glory will crown all his works. A 
view of this subject caused the apostle to exclaim, "0 the depth 
of the riches, botli of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How 
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" 
Christ, then, is the christian's keeper ; and because he is an 
everlasting keeper, they are kept for ever more. He hath engaged 
himself by an evet lasting covenant, not to turn away from them, 
to do them good, but to put his fear in their hearts, so that they 
shall not depart from him. The whole of their perseverance, like 
all other parts of salvation, rests simply upon God : they have 
no ability to induce it, or maintain it, so long as for a moment 
in themselves. God says by the prophet, " I am Jehovah : I 
change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." 

If God changed from his purpose in saving a man, whenever 
the man, left to himself, would change from his desire of being 
saved, God might renounce the strongest believer upon earth, in 
five minutes after he had committed him to himself. The helpless 
creature would soon be consumed; but God's people are not set 
upon slippery places, but "upon a rock, a sure foundation, a 
tried corner stone, elect and precious;" and resiing there, they 
shall never be confounded. The soul once born of the Holy Ghost 
is never unborn, from that day forward. Regeneration is a divine 
act, a supernatural work, which, having once passed upon the 
soul, stands good for ever. The redeemed of the Lord are not 
bought with the blood of Christ, that the Devil might run away 
with the purchase; for they are kept not by their own power, 
but "by the power of God through faith unto salvation." The 
Lord never made that sort of everlasting covenant, which a poor, 



246 APPENDIX. 

weak and silly worm might frustrate; nor can he be reduced to 
any imaginable dilemma, which his infinite wisdom did not fore- 
see, and for which his infinite strength did not provide. "Known 
unto God are all his works, from the beginning of the world." 
He knew his people would be rebels, and could no longer follow 
than he might be pleased to lead; he knew that Satan and the 
powers of darkness would oppose; he foreknew when and where 
that opposition would arise, and he predetermined the bounds of 
its success; he also knew and foreknew all the objects of his 
everlasting love, arranged the times and circumstances of their 
appearance, and ordained the moment and manner of their final 
consummation in glory. This God knew, and this hath God 
wrought for all his people, for his church : not one of them can 
be lost, unless He who is all-wise and almighty can be forced to 
lose them. " The.gifls and calling of God are without repentance." 
The names of all the redeemed are written in the Lamb's book 
of life; and although Satan may endeavour to blot out as to their 
perception, yet he can never blot out as to God's intention. They 
are all enclosed in the archives of Heaven; nay, they are en- 
engraven with an iron pen in the Rock of their salvation : the 
finger of God wrote them there, and the power of God will pre- 
serve them there. Hence they are privileged to sing, "We have 
a strong city : salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 
I will extol thee, my God, King; and I will bless thy name 
for ever and ever!" 



APPENDIX. 247 



NO. II. 

LETTER ON THE SUBJECT OF FREEMASONRY, ADDRESSED TO 

A MINISTER IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE STATE OF 

NEW-HAMPSHIRE. 

Albany, February 10, 1828. 

Dear Cousin — Yours of 22d November came to hand. Your 
kind regard expressed for our spiritual as well as temporal 
welfare, is to me a pleasing evidence of a truly christian spirit. 
That you may be abundantly furnished unto every good word, 
doctrine and work; and that you and all yours may experience 
the rich consolations of the gospel, which, in the providence of 
God, you are appointed to dispense to others, I trust will ever be 
the ardent desire and prayer of him who now addresses you. 

I am happy to learn from your letter that the good work is 
progressing in your congregation, and that souls are gathering 
into the visible kingdom of the Redeemer. This doubtless is at- 
tended with an increase of ministerial duties and labours; but, 
see the precious and timely promise, "I will never leave thee, 
nor forsake thee : my grace shall be sufficient for thee." Never- 
theless the ministry of reconciliation, or the office of an am- 
bassador of Christ, is, in my view, one of the most solemn and 
responsible situations of any I can conceive of; and I think it is 
rendered much more so at the present period, from the lamentable 
fact that innovation, damnable heresy, and infidelity, seem to 
more than keep pace with all the christian zeal and enterprise 
that prevail in our land; and, from close personal observation, 
I am greatly mistaken if Satan has not more adherents or disciples 
in what is called the christian church, nay, even in the ministry, 
than has Christ the glorious and exalted king and head of the 
church. Tins, you will perhaps say, is a very sad picture of the 
visible church of the living God; but, my dear friend, if I am 
to take the whole word of God (and I know of no other safe and 
infallible rule) for the whole length and breadth of my guide and 
duty; both for doctrine, government and discipline in the church 
of Christ, and compare it with what seems to be the prevailing 



248 



APPENDIX. 



sentiments as well as practice of the present time, it will not, I 
think, be wide of the truth; and from the depravity of our na- 
ture, and the deceitfulness of the human heart, perhaps no one is 
above the influence of public opinion, nor should they be, in a 
certain sense and to a certain extent : but extremes in christians 
are dangerous. Even in regard to ministers of the gospel, few, if 
any, are so self-denied as to be above the influence of public 
opinion, or free from the shackles of the world's trinity, the lust 
of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. Their 
calling- and situation place them amid strong" temptations to be- 
tray their Master's interest : being often more under the influence 
of sense than faith, they are sometimes led to trust more to the 
allurements of the mammon of unrighteousness, than to the simple 
promises of God. Hence that thirst for popular applause; that 
studied care to preach a gospel that shall by no means be offen- 
sive to the men of the world, to the idolater, the covetous, the 
sabbath-breaker; that daubing with uutempered mortar; that 
exalting" free will and free agency, at the expense of free and 
sovereign grace; that keeping out of sight the total inability of 
man to any holy exercise or volition; that throwing Christ and 
his righteousness, as the only meritorious ground of justification, 
into the back ground; and, if he is exhibited at all, he is merely 
brought in as a kind of mediator, in order to make good some 
little deficiency, if indeed there should be any at last to make 
good — thereby putting the whole work of salvation into the hands 
of poor helpless creatures; that mighty effort which is making 
for a general union, a general amalgamation of all sects, parties 
and principles (the word of God to the contrary notwithstanding), 
however discordant their views of doctrine, government and 
discipline may be, which would seem to make Christ and his 
apostles a narrow-minded set of bigots, and the reformers a set 
of fanatics, for insisting so much on the necessity of a strict 
regard to the authority of God in his word and ordinances, of 
holding fast the faith once delivered to the saints, and of personal 
holiness as being the best evidence of a child of God, and of an 
interest in the blood and righteousness of Christ. These are things 
which appear to be of minor importance with a large majority 
of the professing part of the community. At present the plain 
and pure doctrines of the gospel appear to afford them no food, 
no satisfaction : something more elegant and splendid; some- 
thing that shall come up to the standard which the fashion of the 
world has erected, must be adopted, which is a kind of religious 



AGAINST FREEMASONRY, etc. 249 

crusade, a fiery zeal for proselyting to the party, rather counting 
on numbers than graces, which appears to be the main article 
with the great body of professors. Now the direct tendency of 
this appears to be, to lead the mind off from the word of God, to 
beget in it low and unworthy views of his character, his authority 
and ordinances; and the effect is, that it nourishes spiritual pride, 
and fills the visible church with hypociites; and then, like people 
like preacher; for so they will have it, and so they wrap it up. 

But to the law and to the testimony; and what an appalling 
picture have we of those shepherds who feed themselves and not 
their flocks, given us in the l3ih and 34th chapters of Ezekiel, 
which every minister ought often to read over. And says another 
servant of God, " I have heard what the prophets said, that pro- 
phecy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. 
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that 
hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully : what is the 
chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord." And so, under the gospel 
dispensation, the treasure is put into earthen vessels, that the 
excellency of the power may (not only be, but appear to) be of 
God, and not of man. And when I read the commission given by 
the Great Head of the church, it appears to be plain, simple and 
explicit. He says, " Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them, etc., teaching them to observe all things what- 
soever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, 
even unto the end of the world." 

Now observe the promise is annexed to the teaching of all 
things, as regards the revealed will of God, and that only is our 
rule of duty; but it would seem that not a (ew, at least, have 
substituted the word some instead of the word all ; and then 
every difficulty is removed, in regard to their favourite system 
of union of sects and parties. The great essentials, say they, we 
all agree in; and as for the non-essentials, we will not contend 
for them — thereby making much of the word of God of no 
account. And is this not evidently pouring contempt upon the 
wisdom of its Divine Author, for revealing to us so much of 
these non-essentials, as many seem to find in the Divine Oracles? 
Are such latitudinarians aware how carefully the whole word of 
God is guarded, both in the Old and New Testament. At the 
close of the Old, it is written, " Remember ye the law of Moses, 
my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, 
with the statutes and judgments." Here is no liberty given for 
taking away or neglecting any part thereof, whatever any may 
16 * 



250 APPENDIX. 

Ihink as to adding thereunto. But the New Testament closes with 
a more solemn and awful sanction : " If any man shall take away 
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away 
his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from 
the things which are written in this book." The expressions in 
the first member of the verse are worthy of notice. It does not 
merely say, 'if any shall take away the book, or deny it alto- 
gether,' as many do, although this class of sinners may be in- 
cluded; yet I apprehend it has a more direct reference to those 
who admit it to be a revelation from God, and therefore the 
expressions are peculiar : "If any man shall take away from 
the words"; so that the book is not only guarded, but the very 
words, and every word equally so. There is, therefore, no re- 
dundancy, no non-essentials here; and the consequence is equally 
fatal tor adding, as for taking away : ' All such shall have no 
part or portion in that inheritance which is incorruptible and un- 
dented, and which fadeth not away.' And that no principle is 
more fully established in God's word than this, that a strict regard 
to his authority is the very essence of all true religion; for nei- 
ther our faith nor our practice can be right, only in so far as we 
are influenced by a regard to God's authority, both in revealing 
as well as in commanding. Hence the scriptures abound with 
many solemn warnings on this subject, to admonish all those who 
may be disposed to take more latitude than the word of God 
affords them. For instance, why was Nadab and Abihu struck 
dead for offering strange fire? Was it because the one species of 
fire, in itself, was less suitable to consume the sacrifice than the 
other? No; but because God had cnstamped his authority upon 
the one, and not upon the other. Why, again, was God displeased 
with David and his people, and with Uzzah on another occasion, 
but for a contempt of his authority? And, further, why could not 
the waters of Abanaand Pharpar cure Naaman's leprosy? Simply 
because the command of God directed him to Jordan, and no 
where else could the blessing be obtained. 

These few instances may serve to teach us this fundamental 
truth, that a strict regard to the authority of God in his word lies 
at the very foundation of all vital practical religion. When, 
therefore, the church is infested with a spirit of self-will, self- 
sufficiency, and carnal policy, which leads men to make their 
own reason, fancy or imagination, the criterion of truth or duty; 
then indeed we may look for a corrupt, temporizing, time-serving 
ministry, which is one of the greatest curses that ever fell upon 



AGAINST FREEMASONRY, etc. 251 

the church of God; and I fear it is too much the case at present, 
and that every truly devoted child of God has abundant cause to 
mourn for her sad defection from her primitive purity and sim- 
plicity, and to tremble for her safety. For her safety, did 1 say? 
No; for she is built upon Christ the Rock of ages, and the gates 
of hell shall never prevail against her. She is secured by cove- 
nant, by an everlasting covenant too, of which Christ the glorious 
and exalted Mediator is one of the contracting parties : a co- 
venant, well ordered in all things and sure; sure, because it is 
ordered by infinite wisdom, and it is secured by almighty power, 
truth and righteousness. Nevertheless there is great cause for 
sighing and crying for all the abominations done in the land. 

Now, my dear friend, do not suppose, that while I am thus 
freely communicating to you my views on this subject, any 
personal application is intended; but only that the experience of 
more than sixty years has taught me, that they are not all Israel 
that are of Israel; and I trust that the grace of God has fully 
convinced me, that other foundation can no man lay than that is 
laid in Zion, which is Christ, and on which any can with safety 
build for eternity. But the tares are to grow with the wheat, until 
the harvest, when those ministering spirits, sent forth to minister 
to them who shall be the heirs of salvation, shall make a complete 
separation; for nothing unholy or unclean shall ever enter the 
New-Jerusalem above. That you and I, and all ours, may be 
enabled through sovereign grace to war a good warfare, and so 
to run as to keep our garments unspotted from the world, and 
our skirts clean from the blood of souls, and at last be able to 
say, with the great apostle, 'I have fought the good fight, I have 
kept the faith,' may God in the riches of his mercy grant. 

Now, my dear friend, I have all along had my eye upon a 
most formidable enemy of the church, that you may never per- 
haps have thought of as such. This adversary and enemy is free- 
masonry, or masonic influence, in the church of God; and an 
enemy, too, which doubtless has had, and still has, an extensive 
influence in corrupting her doctrines. 

As I have sent you a book on freemasonry, I shall take the 
liberty to give you a short sketch of my views of the system of 
masonry, as the result of more than thirty years' observation; for 
it is more than that length of time, since I was often asked why 
I did not join the order of freemasons? My answer then was, that 
as I did not know what it contained or what it embraced, that in 
order to satisfy myself as to its utility, I intended to watch the 



252 



APPENDIX. 



conduct of its votaries, and to examine its fruits; and if I should 
find from such examination that freemasonry made men better 
members of society, better fathers, better children, better chris- 
tians, then I might be induced to join them. But experience and 
close observation have taught me that masonry has had, and still 
has, the direct contrary tendency It has a most withering and 
deleterious effect, especially as regards Christianity. So that my 
judgment of masonry has not been hastily formed from any 
events which have recently transpired, but from tracing causes 
and effects up to their ultimate results; and the amount of my 
observation is, that the principal leaders among them are, with 
very few exceptions, infidels in principle. They make a mock at 
sin, ridicule all the great and leading doctrines of salvation as 
revealed in God's most holy word, and speak with sneering con- 
tempt of every thing like salvation through free sovereign grace, 
reigning through righteousness by Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 
In regard to those among them who had subsequently made a 
profession of the christian religion, if at any time they have ap- 
peared to take any delight in religion, or in the society of the 
saints, or in the ordinances of God's appointment, so as to afford 
good evidence that a work of grace had been wrought in their 
hearts by the Holy Spirit, they have uniformly, as they advanced 
in life, withdrawn from their society and lodge meetings. 

In some cases I have observed those who had made a profession 
of religion before joining the masonic order, who exhibited in 
theii lives little more than the mere form of godliness, and, in 
some instances, given sad evidence that the root of the matter 
was not in them. So that I have been led to a full conviction in 
my own mind, that the whole system of freemasonry is of that 
wicked one; that it is founded in infidelity; that it is identified 
with the man of sin, and with the hidden mystery of iniquity; 
and that masonic antichrist is a term as applicable and proper as 
that of papal antichrist. Doubtless both are of the same origin : 
infidelity is the fountain and source of their existence : they are 
one and the same in principle, object and design; and therefore 
I consider freemasonry, of all others, the most formidable and 
dangerous enemy to civil liberty, but more especially is it the 
enemy of the pure and simple doctrines of the gospel; because 
masons almost exclusively fill every throne, and occupy every 
station, not only in the civil and military departments, but also 
in colleges and seminaries of education. 

Now, I would ask, Is there another power on earth, leagued 



AGAINST FREEMASONRY, etc. 253 

and hound tog-ether by ties so indissoluble as masons consider 
their horrid obligations to be? For we have the most satisfactory 
evidence that a thorough-going mason considers his obligation to 
the fraternity more binding upon his conscience than any other 
law, human or divine, and consequently makes it paramount to 
every other consideration. They are scattered over the whole 
world, and have one common interest : they are under the control 
of, and are marshalled by, an experienced and skilful leader, even 
the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit 
that now worketh in the hearts of the children of disobedience; 
for it is to this prince of darkness that every one, who has taken 
their blasphemous oaths, has sworn allegiance ; because God 
has nowhere either commanded or sanctioned such oaths as are 
imposed and taken by masons in their midnight conclaves within 
the walls of a lodge room. I ask, Ihen, Where on earth can be 
found such a combined power, that can produce such a simulta- 
neous movement, if God permit, and wage war against the saints ? 

I think, it we will examine masonic principles and practices, 
their numbers and combination, their power and influence, both 
in church and state, with unbiased minds, and compare them 
with predicted events yet to take place, we shall find a striking 
analogy between the two. Thus runs the prediction : " For God 
hath put in their hearts to fulfil his wjll, and to agree, and give 
their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be 
fulfilled" (Rev. xvii. 17). And who is prepared to say that this 
prophecy is already fulfilled; and who are those that shall thus 
fulfil the irresistible purposes of God ? I think the answer is at 
hand : They are those that "shall yet hate the whore, and make 
her desolate and naked, and eat her flesh, and burn her with fire" 
(Rev. xvii. 16); and they are also peoples, and multitudes, and 
nations, and tongues. And I think this cannot be confined to 
Papal Rome exclusively, but is to be taken in a more general 
sense as including the enemies of God throughout the world; 
even all those that have in any manner been intoxicated with the 
wine of her fornication, and have committed fornication with her, 
and Wdxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies, until 
the awful tragedy shall take place. 

An admirable description of the characters of the actors in this 
scene is given in II. Tim. iii. 1-5; ar.d if you will carefully 
read over the 3S\h and 39th chapters of Ezekiel, the 11th of 
Daniel, and the 16th, 17th and 18th of Revelation, you will, I 
had almost said, see in reality what the prophets saw in vision. 



254 



APPENDIX. 



And he who knows the end from the beginning-, knows what in- 
fluence masonic principles had in corrupting the church at that 
early day; and he also knows whether this mighty combination 
is not that very host that shall be collected from the four quarters 
of the earth, and shall meet with a dreadful overthrow previous 
to the ushering- in of the millennial day. 

The prevalence of heresy and infidelity, and the signs of the 
times, render it not improbable that the beast may change his 
ground and method of attack, and arise in the Masonic Antichrist; 
so that if those scenes of the persecutions and bloodshed of Papal 
Rome are to be acted over again (doubtless they will be previous 
to the exaltation and universal reign of Christ in this world); if, 
I say, these tragedies are again to take place on the theatre of 
this earth, I see no good reason why we should suppose that 
Antichristian Rome is to be the principal actor in those scenes : 
she, doubtless, will act the part, and only the part assigned her 
in the eternal purposes of God. This enemy of God and man, 
which has so long been drunk with the blood of saints, will 
doubtless form a component part of that mighty host; but since 
it is a truth that will not be denied, that the most violent papal 
persecutors were often concealed infidels, so that infidelity con- 
cealed under any other mask equally answers the prediction, and 
so dropping the papal, may it not well apply to the masonic 
antichrist ? 

I would not be understood as denying or gainsaying the views 
given of antichrist by the most able commentators; but only to 
place freemasonry in the foremost ranks, just where they them- 
selves claim to be. I broach no new interpretation of antichrist : 
it is principles and not terms, his legitimate children and loyal 
subjects, that I aim to designate. 

And when the period above alluded to shall have arrived, the 
combined power of freemasons throughout the woild shall then 
be consummated by a leg.d as well as mystical union with the 
whore of Babylon ; for that mystical union, or union of the 
mystery of iniquity, has always subsisted between them. Let not 
any startle here, and attempt to take shelter under the plea that 
they know nothing of this harlot, having had no connection with 
her. Let all such remember that one day they will be convinced 
that there is such a thing as a spiritual as well as a carnal whore- 
dom. Now you observe the prediction is, " For God hath put into 
their hearts to fulfil his will," etc.; and when that last and most 
decisive battle shall be fought, doubtless masons will hold the 



AGAINST FREEMASONRY, etc 255 

most conspicuous rank in that awful tragedy; for as they are 
very fond of power and titles of nobility, they will of course 
have the principal command, not indeed in their official character 
of free and accepted masons, but in their real true character, that 
of antichrist, the enemies of God and of his Christ. So that when 
this enemy shall come in like a flood, his coming in will be after 
the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying 
wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. 

Now what think you of such a power as this? Is it not tenfold 
to that of Papal Rome ? Is not her power comparatively local 
and circumscribed; whereas this masonic antichrist is already 
in possession not only of all the outposts, but even of the very 
citadel itself? For do they not hold a controlling influence both 
in church and state, throughout the christian, the pagan, and 
mahometan world? They receive into cordial fellowship the 
professed christian, the jew, the pagan, and the mahometan : all 
are embraced by the brotherhood, without distinction of sect, 
party or principle ; and this they boast of as one peculiar excel- 
lence of their order. 

I am aware of the high pretensions which they make to cha- 
racter. They claim all the great, the wise, and the noble of the 
earth : they say that the wise king of Israel was a master mason; 
and they even claim the Saviour of sinners as a brother mason. 
Now if they would wish to know the foundation of such a claim 
as the last, and what success their Great Grand High Priest met 
with, when he attempted to initiate him into their mysteries, and 
to impose on him the masonic oath, they will please to turn to 
St. Matthew iv. 3—11, where they will find a full account of 
the process, and of the result. 

Thus the arch deceiver draws the unwary into his snare, and, 
by his infidel principles, leads them on step by step, until by his 
masonic oath he takes a mortgage of both soul and body to ratify 
and confirm this deed of darkness; and he is virtually the same 
now that he ever has been, whatever may have been his outward 
appearance in circumstances at different periods of the world. 
He is still the same accommodating character that we have fre- 
quent accounts of in the word of God, and is capable of trans- 
forming himself into an angel of light whenever it will subserve 
his interest; for he is associated with principalities and powers, 
with spiritual wickedness in high places, as well as with the rulers 
of the darkness of this world; and of course he is a most skilful 
politician; is always busily engaged at all political meetings, at 



256 APPENDIX. 

all elections, and in the halls of legislation, and at our civil 
courts. He has much business with the advocate at the bar, and 
sometimes with the judge on the bench : he also works his way 
into the jury box; and as he moves in the higher circles of life, 
he is to be met with in the ball room and theatre, as well as at 
the card and the billiard table, the tipling house and brothel. 
And as he can accommodate himself to any sort of company, he 
is not unfrequently admitted into our religious societies ; nay, 
even into our ecclesiastical courts, and from thence he has an 
easy access into the pulpit; and here a wide field is opened be- 
fore him. And as he is a most profound theologian, understanding 
all mystery (that is, the mystery of iniquity), with the experience 
of near six thousand years, he is often considered an important 
acquisition to our colleges and theological seminaries. And being 
a great adept in all the dead languages, he is constantly making 
new discoveries to his deluded followers, such as that the word 
of God contains nothing like original or imputed guilt; nothing 
of a trinity of persons in the Godhead ; nothing of a vicarious 
substitute for sin; nothing of an imputed righteousness for jus- 
tification before God ; and, by these means, he is able so to 
explain the word of God, as to form a system of religion every 
way agreeable to masonic principles. And hence he is not op- 
posed to, but often very zealous and active in what are called 
revivals of religion. He appears friendly, forward and liberal in 
promoting all education, tract, missionary and bible societies, 
and sabbath schools, provided he can get his own agents em- 
ployed, and his goods, wares and merchandize disposed of, and 
thereby corrupt the pure word of God. An instance of his deep 
intrigue, and how he has practised and prospered, may be seen 
in the conduct of the London Bible Society, as given in the 
speech of the Rev. Andrew Thomson before the Edinburgh Bible 
Society. But besides his religious and political character, he is a 
great factor, extensively engaged in commerce, and a catalogue 
of the merchandize in which he deals may be seen in Rev. xviii. 
12, 13; but the most important article in the whole list, and the 
one in which he takes the deepest interest, is in slaves and souls 
of men, not one of whom shall ever be redeemed from his power, 
but by the blood of the incarnate God Emmanuel, God in our 
nature; and this branch of business, I apprehend, belongs to him 
as the ruler of the darkness of this world; for this is his strong 
hold, and here are all his dark and hellish plots hatched, and all 
his deluded and humble vassals bind themselves under the most 



AGAINST FREEMASONRY, etc. 257 

horrid and blasphemous oaths to keep forever all their master's 
secrets. And this, I think, may emphatically be called the ma- 
sonic trap, by which this crafty fowler has for near 6000 years 
been carrying on an extensive trade in slaves and souls of men; 
and this seems to accord so well with the antiquity that masons 
claim for the origin of their order, that I readily agree with them, 
and give them full latitude as to time, since freemasonry is iden- 
tified with antichrist; for, in the apostle's time, he says, "Even 
now are there many antichrists." And he tells us who he means 
by antichrist : " Jt is he that denieth the Father and the Son." 
So that these antichrists were then in the visible church, among 
the professed people of God, and became leaders of heretical 
sects, bringing in and teaching damnable doctrines from that day 
till this; and although they had not as yet assumed a systematic 
organized character, yet may not their character now be distinct- 
ly seen in masonic principles and practice? For masonry, as a 
system, has no Saviour, no atonement, no Holy Spirit, no original 
depravity, no regeneration, no justifying righteousness but their 
own works. Yet this society pretends to a religion, and to take 
the word of God for their rule and guide; and even one of their 
own members, who ministers at the altar of God, says that their 
religion is superior in excellence to the christian religion; and 
one reason he assigns for its superiority, is, that it is a very an- 
cient order. As to that, I freely yield; and if they would but be 
as candid as their great prototype once was, whose name and 
number is Legion, when " He cried with a loud voice, and said, 
What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High 
God ? I adjure thee, by God, that thou torment me not" (Mark 
V. 7); if they would be as honest as their great father, they would 
then confess that masonry is as old as Satan himself, he being 
the father and founder of it; and that it takes its origin from the 
revolt of the fallen angels, and that the first practical exhibition 
of its fruits was in shedding the blood of righteous Abel. "0, 
my soul, come thou not into their secret; unto their assembly, 
mine honour, be not thou united ! " But forever blessed be the 
name, the truth and faithfulness of Jehovah Jesus : He that sit- 
teth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in 
derision, and all his enemies shall at last drink of the wine of the 
wrath of God, which shall be poured without mixture into the 
cup of his indignation; while every chosen vessel given to Christ 
in the everlasting covenant of redemption, shall hear his voice 
saying unto them, "Come ye blessed," etc. 
17 



258 APPENDIX. 

But perhaps I have already written more than you will have 
patience to read; and as I have given you an outline of my views 
in relation to freemasonry, etc., I have only to request of you a 
full and free exchange of sentiments, while, in the patience and 
faith and hope of the gospel, I subscribe myself, 

E. Putnam. 



NOTE. 

In looking over the foregoing letter after a lapse of twenty years, 
I am not a little surprised to observe the gradual development of 
the last antichrist throughout the whole civilized world; and if I 
mistake not, the first incipient step has commenced in this coun- 
try — the gathering together of the army of Gog and Majjog, as 
described in Ezekiel xxxviii. 7, 8, 9, 16, and xxxix. 17-21: 

"Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou and all thy 
company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto 
them. After many days thou shalt be visited : in the latter years 
thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the 
sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains 
of Israel, which have been always waste; but it is brought forth 
out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou 
shalt ascend and come like a storm; thou shalt be like a cloud 
to cover the land, thou and all thy bands, and many people with 
thee. And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a 
cloud to cover the land : it shall be in the latter days, and I will 
bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when 
I shall be sanctified in thee, Gog, before their eyes." 

"And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God, Speak unto 
every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble 
yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my 
sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon 
the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. 
Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the 
princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, 
all of them fatlings of Bashan; and ye shall eat fat till ye be full, 
and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have 
sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses 
and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith 
the Lord God; and I will set my glory among the heathen, and 
all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and 
my hand that I have laid upon them." 



AGAINST FREEMASONRY, etc 259 

These frog spirits are now abroad in the world, preparing 
for that event above described by the prophet : more especially 
in this country, in war and bloodshed, for the acquisition of fo- 
reign territory, in order to extend and perpetuate the system of 
slavery, and that too by a professed protestant people. The church 
and state are identified in this worse than heathen abomination. 
I know not a single clergyman in the land, among the popular 
ranks, that has ever publicly borne testimony against the mur- 
derous system . 

The scene described by Ezekiel, above mentioned, is a dif- 
ferent event, and at a different period, from that described in 
Revelation xx. The one in Ezekiel ushers in the millennial pe- 
riod, a blessedness to the whole world; but that in Revelation is 
at the termination of the thousand years of the millennium, at 
the last judgment. The first is a longer conflict, and takes some 
time to bury the dead, and to cleanse the land. In the last event 
of Gog and Magog, alter they have compassed the camp of the 
saints about, and the beloved city, fire comes down from God 
out of heaven, and devours them, and the devil that deceived 
them. 

At the present time in this country, whenever a bloody battle 
is fought, and thousands are slaughtered, and a few miles of 
foreign territory acquired for the extension of slavery, then we 
hear the cannon roar, and the bells ring. Now commences an- 
other St. Bartholomew's jubilee! Both priests and people rejoice 
that they have destroyed so many heretics. Ah ! they coveted 
Achan's wedge of gold, and the babylonish garments : this is 
the key that unlocks the mystery of this bloody war. 



260 



APPENDIX. 



NO. III. 

REFLECTIONS ON NATIONAL SINS. 

I have been an observer of men and measures, both in church 
and state, for more than threescore and ten years, and am per- 
suaded that this people have become awfully obnoxious to divine 
judgments, and particularly on the three following accounts : — 
First, on account of the horrid barbarity and injustice manifested 
towards the natives of this country, the Indians; secondly, on 
account of the worse than heathen, the antichristian system of 
slavery, as carried on in this country; and, thirdly, on account 
of the countenance and support given to popery, ike man of sin 
and son of perdition. 

These three sins, which I denominate national, and highly 
aggravated as they are by the basest ingratitude, are chargeable 
to this people, both in their civil and ecclesiastical character. 
This must abundantly appear to all who are come to their right 
mind on the subject. And, now, when I reflect on the awful 
magnitude of these sins, and on the character of God as a holy 
and just God, and when I look at the present moral as well as 
physical state of the country, I am led to exclaim, What a cruel 
unrelenting tyrant, what a bloody moloch is this misnamed 
American Republic, and how ripe for the dreadful judgments of 
heaven! Why, notwithstanding all the boasted liberty, refinement 
and Christianity of this country, have we not even brutalized 
millions of native heathens, and of oppressed africans in our 
midst ? Have we not made them more heathen, more corrupt, 
and more wretched than their natural state of corruption and the 
dim light of nature subject them to? Indeed, has not the protes- 
tant church among us even formed a league with Antichrist, in 
withholding the word of life from one half of their brethren ? 
For it is believed that the church, in point of numbers, is much 
less than the poor and oppressed africans, who are, almost with- 
out exception, by means of state laws and prejudices of the 
people, denied the use of the scriptures and the means of grace 



NATIONAL SINS. 261 

and salvation, and that too by the sanction or connivance of the 
church. 

Perhaps there is no people on the face of the whole earth, at 
the present period, that do externally manifest so much benevo- 
lence, liberality, love, and christian zeal for the amendment, the 
moral culture, and salvation of the poor heathen in foreign lands; 
and this is well, excellent, and praiseworthy as far as it goes. 
But all this would seem to come short, according to the apostle; 
for he assures us, that should he give all his goods to the poor, 
and will his body to the flames, yet the principal thing might be 
wanting. And how stands the matter with the protestant church 
in this country, in regard to christian duty? Why, let us cast an 
eye towards our own family, the poor oppressed african race and 
the indian tribes among us, and ask, What have we done; and 
what are we doing, either for their temporal or their spiritual 
interests? Oh! both priest and levite have passed by on the other 
side, and left them still among thieves and robbers : their chris- 
tian love and charity has fled to foreign lands. Ah! will it not 
appear at the great day of judgment, although we have given 
much of our goods to feed the poor, and have even compassed 
sea and land to make proselytes, that the blood of souls is found 
in our skirts ? And will it not appear that all this mighty ma- 
chinery for the conversion of foreign heathen has been put in 
motion merely or principally for the purpose of acquiring a name 
and fame in the world ? 

I hold it to be a self-evident axiom, that he who does not 
carry out his professed principles, whatever they may be, by a 
corresponding practice through life, is but a consummate hypo- 
crite and a deceiver. Such a man has yet to learn his A B C in 
the divine code of moral duties, especially he who makes a 
profession of the christian religion; for he is but a whited se- 
pulchre, whatever his professions may be, who can treat his 
fellow man as a brute, or as an article of traffic, or as something 
to be hunted down and destroyed like a wild beast; but the word 
of God testifies, that such as show no mercy shall have judgment 
without mercy. 

Will it not appear pretty evident, if we take a retrospective 
view of bygone years, and trace them up to the present time, in 
reference to the moral character and conduct of the great mass 
of the people of this country, that in the same degree as their 
benevolence, love and zeal have burned towards the poor heathen 
in foreign lands, so also have their pride, their covetousness and 



262 APPENDIX. 

their cruelty been manifested in corrupting, oppressing, defraud- 
ing- and murdering the poor africans, and the native heathen of 
this land, until the small remnant left of ihe latter are driven, as 
it were, out of the world, driven by violence from the land which 
the God of nations planted them in as their rightful inheritance, 
until he should again commission some Moses or Joshua to dis- 
possess them? And I put the question (let who dare answer it in 
the negative), Has not the church as well as the nation, yes, the 
whole protestant church, had a deep and damning and soul- 
destroying hand in all this accumulated guilt ? The whole po- 
pular influence of the church has been, and is still, on the side of 
fraud, violence, oppression, burning, mobbing and murder, and 
all this to destroy equal rights and to perpetuate slavery. And 
by whom are these heathen driven and hunted by bloodhounds? 
Why by both church and slate : they are joint actors in this 
hellish warfare against the helpless. The government treasury is 
drained to carry on this worse than savage warfare. 

Is it not evident to any careful observer of passing events, that 
the church and state are completely amalgamated in regard to 
their influence and efforts in this horrid conspiracy? They have 
but one purse : the church and state are joint stockholders, at 
least as to prominent influential individuals, in all this mighty 
machinery which is in operation by an ungodly infidel world; 
they are joint partners in all the stocks, the banks, steamboats, 
railroads, cars, stages, etc. etc. This whole machinery is em- 
ployed in corrupting, deceiving, and oppressing the great mass of 
the people, and to blot from the mind all sense of moral obligation 
to God and man. Yes, the church is implicated in all this horrid 
abomination done in the land. Verily they are more guilty than 
the ungodly world, because they sin wilfully after that they have 
come to a knowledge, a speculative knowledge at least, of the 
truth : there remaineth, therefore, for them nought but a fearful 
looking for the execution of that sentence of condemnation, long 
delayed, which awaits all the impenitent. These are the Pharaohs 
of this Egypt, who will not let the oppressed go free, because it 
is not for their interest or popularity. 

Now, whatever it may be to others, to me it is a solemn 
reflection, whether such barbarity, practised either directly or 
indirectly by those who profess the christian religion, has not 
been the cause of making more libertines and infidels in protes- 
tant countries, than will far outnumber all the heathen that have 
been converted to Christianity, through their instrumentality, for 
the last fifty years, throughout the whole world. 



NATIONAL SINS. 263 

The first settlers of this country fled from persecution : they 
braved every danger, suffered great privations, in order that they 
might enjoy liberty of conscience. Our forefathers came to this 
then heathen land, to obtain civil and religious liberty; but they 
had not a Moses and a Joshua as leaders with an express com- 
mand from God, as Israel had, to drive out the heathen before 
them, either by fraud or violence : neither did they think that 
they had any right to a foot of land, except by fair treaty and 
purchase. They said to the natives and rightful owners of the 
soil, just what all honest and upright men will always say: "Let 
us have a little plantation among you, that we may plant and 
raise our bread-corn, that we and our little ones may live and 
not die; and we will give you a fair consideration for the same, 
and we will be your friends and neighbours, and be at peace 
with you and do you good, and teach you and your children the 
knowledge of the one only living and true God, whom we wor- 
ship and adore as the God of all nations, the God of the red man 
as well as the white man; for, this God has made of one blood 
all nations that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. For we 
have God's great and holy book written by himself, teaching us, 
and all people who will read it, to do justly, to love mercy, and 
to walk humbly before him all our days, and to live in peace 
with all men : to do unto them whatsoever we would that they 
should do unto us. And now, if you will let us have a little part 
of your country, we will live on friendly terms with you, and 
teach you and your children the good ways of the Lord." Such 
were the conditions on which our ancestors obtained one acre of 
this good land; and, for a length of time, their engagements 
were strictly complied with. And just so long as they lived up 
to their promises, they were in some measure instrumental in 
civilizing the heathen, and in cultivating their moral character, 
teaching them also agriculture and the arts with some success. 
But in process of time, as they increased in wealth and strength, 
they began to look abroad on this good land; and as the lust of 
the flesh and lust of the eye, and the pride of life, began to eat 
out the purer principles of the gospel from the heart, and to 
corrupt the sincere milk of the word, then, Jeshuran-like, they 
began to wax fat, and soon right was forced to yield to might; 
and as they became pretty extensively engaged in trading, they 
traded not only in 'wine and oil, and fine flour and wheat, and 
beasts and sheep, and horses and chariots, ' but also in 'slaves 
and souls of men.' And no wonder, when a people have arrived 



264 APPENDIX. 

at such a slate of apostacy, that they should be able to satisfy 
themselves, even out of the good old book which they so highly 
recommended to the heathen as a perfect rule of life, that they 
were doing- God service to kill off the natives and take possession 
of a few thousand acres of their land, and then a few millions; 
and finally they have adopted the expedient, saying, These are 
the heirs : come, let us kill them, and the inheritance shall be 
ours. And have they not consummated the horrid deed, both in 
purpose and in practice, to the extent of their power? And hence 
the heathen of this country are to be exterminated, and slavery 
perpetuated to the end of time, and that too by a people pro- 
fessing the christian religion. "0! my soul, come not thou into 
their secret," etc. And so from individual transgression of the 
moral law of God, the nation, both in its civil and ecclesiastical 
character, by its own acts, has made it a national sin; and hence 
it constitutes a national debt to divine justice, which must be paid 
off, sooner or later, by the sufferings of temporal calamities or 
national judgments : and upon such as have been the enemies 
of God and man in all this tragic scene, to all such they will be 
of a penal character, the mere foretaste of wrath to come; while 
to others they may be but fatherly chastisements, sore and dis- 
tressing indeed to flesh and blood. Now, do not such a people 
know, will they not consider, that He that sitteth in the heavens 
shall laugh, that the Lord shall have them in derision, that he 
shall speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore dis- 
pleasure? For he hath said, " Vengeance belongeth unto me : I 
will recompense, saith the Lord." 

And is it not evident that this people's heart has waxed gross, 
and their ears become dull of hearing, and their eyes closed 
against divine truth; that they are destitute of moral sensibility? 
And may they not fitly be compared to the rich man, who was 
clothed in silk and fared sumptuously every day, but could not 
see the poor beggar the length of his palace-yard, lying at his 
gate? No; he was blind, and could not see afar off, until the fire 
of hell cleared up his vision, and then he was very quick-sighted. 
yes; no sooner did he begin to feel the gnawing of that worm 
that never dies, than he saw the poor beggar afar off in Abra- 
ham's bosom; and none will ever be so importunate for so small 
a favour as he craved of Abraham, until he be awakened from 
his spiritual slumber. Ah ! and how many rich men are there 
now-a-days, in the protestant church, clothed in costly apparel 
and faring sumptuously, who cannot see that the word of God 



NATIONAL SINS. 265 

condemns slavery! On the contrary, they can find sufficient to 
lull their consciences asleep. No; they can see nothing in the 
whole system of moral obligation and christian duty, which for- 
bids buying and selling their own species; that forbids brutalizing 
their fellow man! No; they can only see sin in the abstract! 
Yes; they are keen-sighted enough to see an abstract sin, which 
no other mortal on earth ever did see! An abstract sin! Why 
this was forged in hell by the father of lies, and was first played 
off in the garden of Eden, by persuading Eve that transgression 
of the laws of God was only an abstract sin, and therefore no sin 
at all, but would make them wise as God himself; and the old 
serpent has been at his trade ever since that period, and has full 
employ now among our great popular reverend D.D.'s. 

I close with a reflection on a passage of scripture : " Because 
sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed, therefore 
the hearts of the children of men are fully set in them to do evili" 
Now with respect to this passage, 1 believe the general impression 
with the mass of mankind is, that no sentence against any evil 
work is passed, unless immediately followed by an execution of 
it; that sentence and execution must be simultaneous. And here 
I wish, that those who can dive deep, would ponder well this 
passage. It is not said, Because sentence against an evil work is 
not passed speedily, but it is not executed speedily; and it 
would seem to me, that the multitude, by confounding the two, 
that is, sentence and execution, have lost sight of the primary 
meaning of the passage, as though sentence must follow every 
transgression of the law of God ; for it is evident that those who 
are complaining, and are treasuring up wrath against the day of 
wrath, are looking and waiting for a sentence as well as an exe~ 
cution. The views generally entertained militate against the attri- 
bute of Jehovah's infallibility, against his immutability. Now I 
apprehend that no new or other sentence against any or every 
sin or evil work, other than that passed by Jehovah in the high 
court of heaven, and which has gone forth for all time to come, 
to wit, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die," 
was the sentence against all transgression of the law of God both 
past and future; and that after the apostacy of man, when the 
same irrevocable sentence was further revealed, it runs thus : 
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die; cursed is every one that 
continueth not in all things written in the book of the law, to do 
them." Therefore there is no new or future sentence from the 
unchangeable God, against any transgression of his law. God has 
J7 * 



266 APPENDIX. 

no occasion to wait, as earthly courts or civil rulers do, in order 
to ascertain who and what sins or transgressions a man shall 
commit, before sentence is passed. No; his thoughts and ways 
are not like our thoughts and ways. God knows the end from the 
beginning : all things are naked and open to him who searcheth 
all hearts; and, therefore, in all his sovereign acts, as creator, 
lawgiver and judge, he does nothing by piecemeal. There is no 
contingency with him : that was all settled in the counsels of 
eternity. All that is new or subsequent to that one and final de- 
cision, will only be its execution upon all the objects of the 
curse. And therefore it is because sentence is not speedily exe- 
cuted, or, in other words, because execution of the sentence is 
long delayed, that the multitude reason themselves into a belief 
that there is no danger so long as they do not feel its effects. 
They may admit, indeed, that sentence has been passed upon 
some, upon Adam, for instance; for he experienced its effects, 
being driven out of the garden of Eden ; and so in regard to the 
old world, and also the cities of the plain, which, being destroyed 
with fire and brimstone from heaven, they admit to come within 
the range of a sentence of condemnation. But with respect to 
themselves, they put far away the evil day, and seem to think 
that the threatening has no application to them, because it is not 
speedily executed; therefore it is they will not believe, until, 
like the rich man in the parable, they lift up their eyes, being in 
torment. For so it was with the antediluvians, although they had 
many warnings by the preaching of Noah for the space of 120 
years, without any other effect than to harden them the more in 
sin; and so also have the inhabitants of this country had warning 
after warning for the space of 220 years, and yet this country 
presents a most awful picture of unbounded profligacy and every 
evil work. Therefore, I say, be not mockers, lest your bands be 
made strong. E. Putnam. 

November, 1837. 

NOTE. 

What wonderful developments we find of the character and 
workings of Antichrist, that old serpent the devil, for the dis- 
honour of God, the degradation and ruin of mankind, if we advert 
to a few historical events, and follow them down to the present 
period. 

We begin with the prophet Balaam, and king Balak. "And 



NATIONAL SINS. 267 

Balak sent messengers unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, 
which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, 
to call him, saying-, Behold, there is a people come out from 
Egypt : behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide 
over against me. Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this 
people; for they are too mighty for me : perad venture I shall 
prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out 
of the land; for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and 
he whom thou cursest is cursed" (Numbers xxii. 5, 6). Here 
was a great host of abolitionists just emancipated from slavery : 
this people enraged king Balak; and he thought, if he could 
have them cursed by one of God's prophets, as he supposed, then 
he would remain unmolested by these abolitionists. King Balak 
was doubtless a great whig or locofoco, and therefore wished to 
get the people of Israel back again into slavery. See the result 
of Balak 's attempt, chapter xxiii. 18 - 24 : "And Balaam took 
up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; barken unto 
me, thou son of Zippor. God is not a man, that he should lie; 
neither the son of man, that he should repent. Hath he said, and 
shall he not do it; or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it 
good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless; and he 
hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld any 
iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel : 
the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among 
them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath, as it were, the 
strength of an unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against 
Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel : according to 
this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God 
wrought ! Behold the people shall rise up as a great lion, and 
lift himself up as a young lion : he shall not lie down until he 
eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain." 

Take another case. Esther iii. 1, 5, 6, 8-11 : "After 
these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of 
Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat 
above all the princes that were with him. And when Haman saw 
that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Ha- 
man full of wrath; and he thought scorn to lay hands on Mor- 
decai alone, for they had showed him the people of Mordecai; 
wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the jews that were 
throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of 
Mordecai. And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a 
certain people scattered abroad, and dispersed among the people 



268 APPENDIX. 

in all the provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws are diverse 
from all people, neither keep they the king's laws; therefore it 
is not for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please the king, 
let it be written that they may be deslroyed; and I will pay ten 
thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge 
of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. And the 
king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Hainan the 
son of Hammedalha the Agagite, the jews' enemy; and the king 
said unto Hainan, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to 
do with them as it seemeth good to thee." Here we have another 
high political whig, Hainan, who had conspired against the poor 
abolitionists; and how liberal the sum, too, which he offered for 
their extermination ! The bargain being concluded (verses 9, 
10, 11), Haman exults in his triumph; yet one thing rendered 
him unhappy (v. 13) : "Yet all this availeth me nothing, so 
long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." Well, 
his wife proposes an expedient, which seems to banish all fear 
(verse 14) : "Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto 
him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to-morrow 
speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon; 
then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the 
thing pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows to be made." 
Now poor Mordecai is destined to the gallows of seventy-five feet 
altitude, because he would not bow down to this haughty tyrant 
and murderer. Well, what next ? W T hy, either Haman or Mor- 
decai, by the king's command, must be honoured and highly 
exalted in the presence of the people; and it will be seen in the 
sequel that Hainan received the highest elevation of the two, al- 
though not the most honourable (vi. 9, 10) : "And let this ap- 
parel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's 
most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom 
the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback 
through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus 
shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. 
Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel 
and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the 
Jew that sitteth at the king's gate : let nothing fail of all that 
thou hast spoken." But a sad reverse as to Haman takes place 
(vii. 9, 10) : "And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said 
before the king, Behold, also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which 
Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the 
king, standeth in the house of Haman : then the king said, Hang 



NATIONAL SINS. 269 

him thereon. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had 
prepared for Mordecai; then was the king's wrath pacified. " 

We will take another case, that of Daniel and his three com- 
panions in Babylon. Here was a pretty extensive conspiracy 
formed against Daniel and his three friends : it was to have them 
destroyed; and it would seem that the most criminal charge 
against them was, that these four hebrew captives were thorough- 
going temperance men, as well as full-blooded abolitionists, and 
therefore no wonder that the whig and loco popular influence 
was arrayed against them. (See Daniel vi. 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 
13, 15, 16) : ''Then the presidents and princes sought to find 
occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom ; but they could 
find none occasion or fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither 
was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, 
We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we 
find it against him concerning the law of his God. Then these 
presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said 
thus unto him, King Darius, live forever! All the presidents of 
the kingdom, the governors and the princes, the counsellors and 
the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, 
and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition 
of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, king, he shall 
be cast into the den of lions. Then these men assembled, and 
found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 
Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the 
king's decree : Hast thou signed a decree, that every man that 
shall ask a petition of any god or man within thirty days, save 
of thee, king, shall be cast into the den of lions ? The king 
answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the 
Medes and Persians, which alterelh not. Then answered they, 
and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children 
of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, king, nor the 
decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times 
a-day. Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto 
the king, Know, king, that the law of the Medes and Persians 
is, that no decree or statute which the king establisheth may be 
changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, 
and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said 
unto Daniel, Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will 
deliver thee." See the arts and intrigues of these politicians ! 
Yes, they have lost nothing in this respect to the present day. 
Well, Daniel is in the lion's den ; let us see what his condition 



270 



APPENDIX. 



is now (verses 19 - 22) : "Then the king arose very early in 
the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions; and when 
he came to the den, lie cried with a lamentable voice unto Da- 
niel, and the king spake and said to Daniel, Daniel, servant of 
the living Goa, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able 
to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, 
king, live forever! My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut 
the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me, forasmuch as be- 
fore him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, 
king, have I done no hurt." yes; Daniel is safely delivered 
from the malice of his enemies. Why the voracious lions would 
not touch or injure such an abolitionist and temperance-man as 
Daniel was! But how has it fared with his accusers? (See verses 
24 - 28) : "And the king commanded, and they brought those 
men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den 
of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had 
the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever 
they came at the bottom of the den. Then king Darius wrote 
unto all people, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth, 
Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in every 
dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God 
of Daniel; for he is the living God, and stedfast forever, and his 
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion 
shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he 
worketh signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who hath 
delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel 
prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the 
Persian." Ah ! ye whigs and locos; ye conspirators ! See how 
surely retribution follows crime ! 

APPLICATION. 

Now I in humble sober earnestness would admonish all, both 
ministers and people of every character and description, whether 
political, civil or ecclesiastical, to ponder well their fearfully 
responsible condition ; for as surely as there is a holy, just, 
omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God, so surely shall a 
full retribution overtake all the finally impenitent. Such is the 
inevitably destined fate of all conspirators against the cause of 
God, or against any of the people of God, unless free sovereign 
grace prevent. "Then shall the king say unto them on his right 
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
pared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew xxv. 
34). 



NATIONAL SINS. 271 

Lord ! May it be my blessed lot to be found on thy right 
hand, and to hear that soul-reviving- declaration, ' Come, ye 
blessed of my Father,' and may 1 enjoy the blessing of those 
who partake of the first resurrection ( Rev. xx. 4 — 6) : "And 
I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given 
unto them ; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the 
witness of Jesus, and for the word of God 3 and which had not 
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his 
mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years : this is the first resurrection. 
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on 
such the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of 
God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." 

Amen ! Even so come Lord Jesus. 



272 APPENDIX. 



NO. IV. 

CONTINUATION OF THE INQUIRY INTO THE INFLUENCE OF 
FREEMASONRY, etc. 

With regard to Freemasonry, it will be necessary to go back 
a little, to explain the mystery of this iniquity. 

It will be recollected, that some twenty years since, free- 
masonry received a mighty shock, by the death of Morgan, one 
of their members, for disclosing the secrets of their hell-born 
system. This put the whole fraternity into a sad dilemma, for 
some time, to cover up the impiety of their system; and as they 
had from their very beginning received much aid from the high- 
minded clergy, and as the mask of religion and hypocrisy can 
cover the most horrid abominations, they resorted to the expe- 
dient of adding another thickness of sheep's clothing, of hypocrisy, 
infidelity and impiety, to their soul-destroying system; and the 
monster now appears in all its strength and majesty of form, 
under the title of "Odd-Fellows," with the plausible appella- 
tion of charity and benevolence to the widow and orphan, and 
all its former machinery is now in full and successful operation 
throughout the nation; and it is not confined to this land, but 
extends throughout the whole civilized world, as is evident from a 
French work recently published, which appears as an attempt to 
amalgamate revolution with religion, and to preach rebellion and 
regicide in scriptural phraseology. The work has created a sen- 
sation, and appears to be one of the signs of the times. It is said 
that it has run through fifteen editions, and has been translated, 
by the zeal of the radical propagandist, into almost all the Eu- 
ropean languages. It affects, in its form and phrase, to be a kind 
of serious parody of the prophetic scriptures, more particularly 
of the apocalypse. It opens with a transcript of some passage of 
Holy Writ : "In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy 
Ghost, amen ! He that hath ears to hear, let him hear; he who 
hath eyes, let him see, for the time cometh." In one place it 
brings in seven men crowned, drinking foaming blood out of 



INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONRY, etc. 273 

a skull, and saying-, 'We will conceal the weapon, but crush 
the wretch,' meaning Jesus Christ. It is, in short, described as 
containing- forty chapters of impiety, sedition, jacobinism — an 
incomprehensible absurdity, combined with religious expressions 
from the scriptures. 

An editor of similar works to the above, said to a clergyman, 
that " he was strongly of opinion that the world was travelling 
to the production of a new religion, which would finally abolish 
Christianity." I told him I agreed with him thus far, that new 
doctrines, which might be called a new religion, might, at no 
distant time, overspread many nations to such an extent as to 
blot out, over wide tracts, all who believe in the christian revela- 
tion; but that, far from looking forward to the consummation 
with hope as a promise of good to mankind, I anticipate it with 
the utmost horror, as the most dreadful darkness that could fall 
upon the human race. "Oh! then," said he, "I perceive you 
believe in that absurd fable about Antichrist." "And what," 
said I, "is Antichrist, but the new religion which you are 
expecting will finally abolish Christianity?" 

From what has been said, we may infer the doctrine of a 
national providence; a doctrine so consonant to reason, and so 
consolatory to the christian in times like the present, and con- 
firmed by the uniform testimony of the inspired writers. " The 
kingdom," says David, " is the Lord's, and he is the Governor 
among the nations. He setteth up kings; he putteth down kings. 
The Most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and giveth them 
to whomsoever he will. He holdeth the times and seasons in his 
power : he changeth the times and seasons." "The Most High," 
said Nebuchadnezzar, " ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and 
giveth them to whomsoever he will." The same doctrine is stated 
by the great apostle to the gentiles, in his speech to the Athenian 
philosophers. "God," says he, "has made of one blood all na- 
tions of men, to dwell upon the face of the whole earth; and has 
determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their 
habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might 
feel after him and find him; for in him they live, and move, and 
have their being." 

And who are these e all nations that dwell upon the face of the 
whole earth, and the bounds of their habitation, fixed in the pur- 
pose of God'? And who are 'the gentile nations,' according to 
the sense of the apostle? Why, in his time, heathen and gentile 
were convertible terms; so that our origin as to nationality is 
18 



274 APPENDIX. 

strictly heathen or gentile, which has become so obnoxious both 
to the church and nation, that, for this twenty years, great efforts 
have been made, and the arts and stratagems of the philosopher, 
the statesman and the clergy, have been employed to denational- 
ize, or to efface the term nation, as regards the Africans and the 
Indians. They are called tribes of indians and of heathen, de- 
nying to them the attribute of rationality. They have been made 
the dividing link between the human and the brute creation, in 
order to justify themselves in converting the one into property, 
to be bought and sold like the beast of the field; and the other 
tribe, not being so docile and pliable, are consigned to utter 
extermination from the earth, from the bounds of their habitation 
which God has before appointed for them. 

The efforts to extend and perpetuate slavery, and exterminate 
the indians, have become more visible and manifest since those 
three unclean spirits from the dragon, the beast, and the false 
prophet, have come forth, and gone forth to the kings of the 
earth, and to the whole world, to gather the nations to the battle 
of that great day of God Almighty; and these being the spirits 
of devils, no wonder that many miracles are wrought nowadays. 
Why, all the magicians in Egypt or Babylon could not come up 
to some of our great doctors of divinity, in the art now very 
much in vogue, that is, the system of animal magnetism. For 
instance, a case was related to me by a very pious clergyman, 
and the name of the operator and the one operated upon all well 
known to me; that this Great D. D. (now at the head of a po- 
pular college) could, by laying his hand on another clergyman, 
at once arrest and fix in statu quo all his physical and mental 
faculties, so that he could neither move hand, foot, or tongue. 
Indeed this art seems even incorporated as a part of the theology 
of the day. Many of its professors have become mere travelling 
mountebanks, to amuse the popular throng; and I have heard 
many instances, quite as remarkable as the one related above, 
from persons who have been present at their exhibitions. 

There is something divinely significant in Daniel's description 
of the fourth kingdom or monarchy (chapter ii. verse 43) : — 
" And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay : they 
shall mingle with the seed of men ; but they shall not cleave one 
to another, even as iron is not mixed with miry clay." This, and 
many of the Psalms, I conceive, are the master keys which un- 
lock more of the mysteries of prophetic record in regard to the 
future purposes of God, than any other portion of Holy Writ; 



INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONRY, etc. 275 

and the more they are searched and understood, the more clear 
will appear the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the 
knowledge of God. "How unsearchable are his judgments, and 
his ways are past rinding- out ! " The spirit of Antichrist is now 
to be found working its way to its last consummation. It is not 
the nominal christian alone, that does, by his profession, exclude 
antichrist; the sins of rulers, civil and ecclesiastical, in disowning 
Him by whom kings reign and princes decree justice, even all 
the judges of the earth . 

According to Daniel, this mingling with the seed of men 
became more manifest when Pagan Rome became, as an empire, 
Christian Rome : then secular and worldly honours were first 
introduced into the christian church. Before that time, the church 
was an object of unrelenting persecution; but this mingling with 
the seed of men placed the professing part of the church on the 
popular side of public opinion, by which they could escape per- 
secution from the world. They received honour one of another, 
regardless of that honour which cometh from God only; and this 
mingling lias been going on in the church, until the whole lump 
had become leavened with infidelity and antichristianity, at the 
time of the reformation; but even with that event the old leaven 
was not thoroughly purged out. Ever since the reformation, the 
church has continued to become more and more identified with 
the secular, popular, political influence of the world. 

Now I apprehend that this mingling with the seed of men, or 
apostacy of the protectant church from God, has already gone 
nearly to the extent the Jewish church had, the year or week 
before their city and temple were destroyed, and their people 
dispersed throughout the earth; and that the times of the gentile 
domination have nearly run out, when the sanctuary is to be 
cleansed. 

Well would it be for ministers of the Lord, if they would bear 
more continually in mind that they ought now to be servants, 
and not lords over God's heritage : it is a more fit time to pro- 
phesy in sackcloth, and patiently wait for the blessed time, when, 
"Behold, a king shall reign In righteousness, and princes shall 
rule in judgment ! " 

I fear that multitudes, and even many professors of religion, 
are at this time under a sad delusion in regard to those events 
which are impending over the church of Christ : they love those 
flattering representations which set forth only what is good and 
pleasant to the carnal mind. Hear what an eminent divine (Bishop 



276 



APPENDIX. 



Usher) said, at the close of his life : "The greatest stroke upon 
the reformed churches is yet to come; that a very great per- 
secution will fall upon all the protestant churches of Christ. I 
tell you, all you have yet seen lias been but the beginning of 
sorrows, to what is yet to come upon the protestant churches. 
Look ye ! Be not found in the outer court, but a worshipper in 
the temple before the altar; for Christ will measure all that 
profess his name, and call themselves his people, and the outward 
worshippers he will leave out to be trodden down by the gentiles. 
The outer court is the formal christians', whose religion consists 
in performing the outward duties of Christianity, without having 
an inward power of life and failh uniting them to Christ : these 
will God leave to be trodden and swept away by the gentiles; 
but the worshippers within the temple of God, and before the 
altar, God will hold in the hollow of his hand, and under the 
shadow of his wings. And this shall be one great difference 
between the last and all the preceding persecutions; for in the 
former, the most eminent and spiritual ministers and christians 
did suffer most, and were most violently fallen upon; but in this 
last persecution, these shall be preserved by God, as a seed, to 
partake of that glory which shall immediately follow and come 
upon the church, as soon as the storm shall be over. For as it 
shall be the sharpest, so shall it be the shortest persecution of 
them all, and shall only take away the gross hypocrites and for- 
mal professors; but the true scriptural believer shall be preserved 
till the calamity be over and past." All this I deem to be yet 
future. 

In consequence of this mingling with the seed of men, spoken 
of by Daniel, the very principles of cohesion and adhesion, or 
christian fellowship, appear to be in a measure destroyed in 
society : there is little else than party against party, the church 
against the church. All real christian union appears to have come 
to an end. The apostle Peter, at the transfiguration, asked per- 
mission to build three tabernacles; but three hundred thousand 
would not be sufficient now, that each one might worship in his 
own way. 

I apprehend there is much more involved in this mingling 
with the seed of men, than most even of the clergy are aware of. 
If we advert to the original curse which God pronounced on the 
transgressors, I think we may get a glimpse at least of what the 
prophet had reference to. "And," says God, "I will put enmity 
between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her 



INFLUENCE OF FREEMASONRY, etc. 277 

seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel." 
And doubtless the psalmist had his eye upon this passage, when 
he says, "Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the 
iniquity of my heels compasses me about?" And the prophet 
Daniel, no doubt, had reference to the last times, when anti- 
christian principles shall generally abound both in church and 
state. For Antichrist can intrude his worldly-mindedness, his 
dead formality, his hypocrisy, his pharisaism, his bigoted in- 
tolerance and his spiritual domination, his infidel revolutionists 
and his atheistical radicals : all these unclean spirits are now 
abroad in both church and state. And while I am now penning 
this article, I hear the cannon roaring, and the people rejoicing 
at the extension of Satan's empire, by the annexation of foreign 
territory, for the ostensible purpose of enlarging the field of 
slavery. 

The church and the nation are so infatuated in the system of 
slavery, that the life of the most eminent statesman in the nation, 
if not in the world, was threatened, and efforts were made for his 
expulsion from the house of representatives; and that, too, for 
no other cause than that he had the moral courage to agitate the 
subject of slavery, and to urge its total abolition. And the time 
has come, that no member, either of the state or national legis- 
lature, can boldly oppose any acts of those bodies, which sanc- 
tion or tolerate the most impious abominations that do almost 
universally prevail throughout the land. These are some of the 
signs of the times. 



278 APPENDIX. 



NO. V. 

A SHORT REVIEW OF A SERMON. 

" These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having' 
seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced 
them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the 
earth" (Hebrews xi. 13). 

"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received 
not the promise ; God having provided some better thing for us, 
that they without us should not be made perfect" (Id. ib. 39, 40). 

These passages were pointed out to a minister of no ordinary 
talent, with a request that he would give a full scriptural exposi- 
tion of them, especially of the last clause of the fortieth verse, to 
wit, in what that better thing consisteth, which Paid' says God 
has provided for us ? In complying Avith the request, the ex- 
pounder brought the whole weight of his argument to show that 
the better thing was simply the personal presence and inter- 
course with Christ, which the apostles enjoyed above and beyond 
those who had died in faith and hope, not having received the 
promises which the apostles were in the full possession of. Dif- 
fering from the preacher in regard to the apostle's meaning and 
application of those words, "the better thing provided for us," 
I have designed the following to show that the apostle's mind was 
directed forwards to those great events connected with the second 
advent of Christ, and the first resurrection of the glorified and 
triumphant church; when He, together with all the saints of the 
first resurrection, will be put into full possession of their eternal 
inheritance, so repeatedly promised throughout the scriptures, a 
few quotations of which are here given : Job xix. 25, 26, 27; 
Psalms xxxvii. 18; Ephesians i. 11, 14, 18; Acts xx. 32, and 
xxvi. 18; Romans viii. 17; Galatians iii. 7; Colossians i. 12, 
and iii. 24; Titus iii. 7; I. Peter i. 3, 4. 

Job xix. 25, 26, 27 : " For I know that my Redeemer liveth, 



REVIEW OF A SERMON. 279 

and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though 
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I 
see God, whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall be- 
hold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me." 

Doubtless Job's faith reached forward to the first resurrection, 
at the second advent of Christ, when he should be glorified in 
soul and body. Then comes that latter day, when Job and all the 
redeemed shall see Christ stand upon the earth, and shall live and 
reign with him. 

David had his eye of faith on the same advent, when he says 
"As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness : I shall be 
satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness" (Psalm xvii. 15). 
David here doubtless has reference to Isaiah xxv. 8 : "He will 
swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away 
tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of his people shall he 
take away from off all the earth, for the Lord hath spoken it." 

Paul treats largely on the subject of the first resurrection : 
"Behold, I show you a mystery! We shall not all sleep, but we 
shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at 
the last trump (for the trumpet shall sound); and the dead shall 
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (I. Cor. xv. 
51, 52). The apostle says (verse 23), "But every man in his 
own order : Christ the first fruits; afterwards they that are Christ's 
at his coming." And it will be perceived that 1800 years have 
already intervened since Paul made the declaration "afterwards 
they that are Christ's at his coming." 

Now as the trumpet of God never gives an uncertain sound, 
let us follow its echo a little further. "And he shall send his 
angels with a great sound of a trumpet" (not a great trumpet, 
but a great sound of a trumpet); "and they shall gather together 
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the 
other" (Matthew xxiv. 31), Here we seethe gathering together 
of all the elect of God. 

We advance one step further, to Matthew xxv. 31, 32, 33 : 
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy 
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, 
and before him shall be gathered all nations" (not merely the 
elect, but all nations); "and he shall separate them one from 
another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he 
shall set the sheep on his right hand" (the place of honour and 
distinction, where king Solomon set his mother the queen). Now 
here are assembled a very great company. 



280 



APPENDIX. 



Says Paul to the Hebrews (xii. 22, 23, 24) : "But ye are 
come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living- God, the 
heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; 
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are 
written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits 
of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new 
covenant." 

Daniel vii. 13, 14 : "I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, 
one like the San of man came with the clouds of heaven, and 
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before 
him; and there was given him dominion and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, nations and languages should serve him : 
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." 
(Verse 27) : "And the kingdom and dominion, and the great- 
ness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to 
the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an 
everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey 
him." Now let it be borne in mind, that the prophet describes a 
dominion over the whole earth, and under the whole heaven, 
because all nations and languages are included in those kingdoms 
described above; and this kingdom is to be given to the 
people of the saints of the Most High. 

Now has this prediction ever been fulfilled ? If not, will it be 
fulfilled before or after the event described in Revelation xx. 
11 - 15; or will this latter be the same event, and at the same 
period of time with those described above? "And I saw a great 
white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth 
and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them" 
( Here are no nations, kindred or tongues, as above in Daniel's 
prophecy). "And 1 saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, 
which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those 
things which were written in the books, according to their works. 
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and 
hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were 
judged every man according to their works; and death and hell 
were cast into the lake of fire : this is the second death. And 
whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast 
into the lake of fire." 

Now the judgment before the great white throne makes no 
mention of nations, or of any living, but only of the dead small 



REVIEW OF A SERMON. 281 

and great; and, for aught that appears, all that stood before the 
throne were cast into the lake of fire. Now connect this with 
Matthew xxv. 34 : "Then shall the king say unto them on his 
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And if we 
follow this judgment to the end of the chapter, we shall perceive, 
I think, that this is the harvest when the tares are separated from 
the wheat; and tins event will precede the judgment before the 
great white throne at least 1000 years. 

Now it will require a greater share of figurative interpretation, 
or rather perversion of scripture, than I am disposed to use on 
any subject, to make this and the foregoing events harmonize, 
either as to time, circumstance, or character. 

Let us return to the preceding part of the prophecies, and the 
apostle's predictions, and see if we do not find something called 
the binding of Satan, something called the first resurrection, 
something called the reign of the martyrs, and something called 
the coming of the Son of man, to whom shall be given the do- 
minion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven; 
and if we turn to Revelation xix. 1 1 - 16, we shall obtain some 
further knowledge of the king described in Matthew xxiv. and 
xxv., who shall gather his elect from the four winds of heaven, 
and who also sits upon the throne of his glory, gathering all 
nations, and dividing the sheep from the goats, and saying unto 
the former, Come ye blessed of my Father, etc. 

Matthew xxv. 34 : " Then shall the king say unto them on 
his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
dom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Now 
connect this with Ephesians i. 11, 14, 18; Psalm xxxvii. 18; 
Acts xx. 32; Romans via. 17; Colossians i. 12, and iii. 24; 
I. Peter i. 3, 4. From these precious promises, we may learn 
something of what that great cloud of witnesses, those martyrs 
and patriarchs, were waiting and looking and longing for ( He- 
brews xi. 13, 37 — 40) : "These all died in faith, not having 
received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were 
persuaded of them and embraced them, and confessed that they 
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. They were stoned, they 
were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword : 
they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, 
afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy); they 
wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of 
the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through 
18* 



282 



APPENDIX. 



faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better 
thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. " 

Revelation xix. 11—14 : "And I saw heaven opened, and 
behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faith- 
ful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many 
crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he 
himself; and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood [not 
in his own blood, but in that of his inveterate enemies], and his 
name is called The Word of God ; and he hath on his thigh and 
on his vesture a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white 
horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean." 

Now if we turn to the twentieth chapter of the same book, we 
shall arrive at the crisis, or at the very climax of what Paul had 
in view, when he said to the Hebrews "And these all having 
obtained a good report through failh, received not the promises; 
God having provided some better thing for us, that they without 
us should not be made perfect." St. John, after the wonderful 
vision he had of the binding of Satan, and of the casting him into 
the bottomless pit, proceeds to give an account of the very event, 
its glory and blessedness, which every true child of God, from 
the first martyrs to the present day, have been looking and wait- 
ing for. "And," says the beloved disciple, "I saw thrones, and 
they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I 
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, 
and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the 
beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their 
foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ 
a thousand years; but the rest of the dead lived not again until 
the thousand years were finished : this is the first resurrection" 
(Revelation xx. 4, 5, 6). 

And what follows? Why the very consummation or possession 
of that better thing which the apostle says God had provided for 
us (Matthew xxv. 34). As he uses the word us, in the plural, it 
will apply to all the martyrs, as well as to himself and his com- 
panions; for neither the apostle, nor any of those then living, 
would be permitted to prevent or get the start of the patriarchs 
or martyrs. No : God has an order and a set time for all his 
holy purposes. 

In the sixth verse (Revelation xx.), we have the character 
and privileges of those who shall partake of the first resurrection. 



REVIEW OF A SERMON. 283 

iC Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : 
on such the second death hath no power." All the children of this 
resurrection shall be holy, in every sense of the term : " They 
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a 
thousand years." They shall be holy, as having been separated in 
the eternal counsels of the Father, to be his sons and daughters, 
inheritors of the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation 
of the world : Holy, as having been redeemed by the death, 
washed in the blood, and clothed in the righteousness of the Lamb 
of God; as having been called in time by his grace, regenerated 
and sanctified by his Spirit, and made meet for the eternal inheri- 
tance of the saints in light : Holy, as having now eternally laid 
aside their body of sin and death, being altogether renewed in 
the image of God, and made perfectly like unto that Jesus whom 
they shall now see as he is. It shall be a kingdom of holiness: a 
holy Saviour, and a holy people. "There shall in nowise enter 
into it any unclean thing, neither whatsoever worketh abomination 
or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb's book 
of life." None else will be there; but, blessed be God, their 
number will be great; for they will "be gathered out of all 
nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues; and there will be 
a voice «as of a great multitude, and as the voice of many wa- 
ters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia! 
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." And how exalted will 
be their privileges ! They will not only be holy, but blessed : 
they will be the blessed of the Father, for whom the kingdom 
has been prepared : they will be blessed, because, as priests of 
God and of Christ, they will reign with him in a kingdom of 
blessedness; in a kingdom where there shall be no more curse, 
for the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; in a king- 
dom where they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; 
where there shall be no more night; where God shall wipe away 
all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nei- 
ther sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pam, for 
the former things shall have passed away. And this all-important 
privilege, also, shall be theirs, that the second death shall have 
no power over them. 

And is it possible that every christian is not inspired with a 
fervent desire of being found amongst that happy number, who 
shall attain unto this first resurrection of the dead ? Do not your 
souls pant for the unspeakable felicity of sitting down with 
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and the whole family of God in 



284 APPENDIX. 

the kingdom of his Son ? But unless the Lord Jesus reign spi- 
ritually and predominantly in your hearts while you are here, 
your hopes are fallacious; for it is only the subjects of the king- 
dom of grace that shall be the subjects of the kingdom of glory. 

The truths which have here been briefly set forth, were the 
doctrine of the three first centuries of the primitive church; and 
for which the servants of Christ suffered, and for his sake even 
courted martyrdom itself, not accepting deliverance; that they 
might obtain a better resurrection, that better thing, the eternal 
inheritance provided and promised to every true believer. For if 
children, then heirs — heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ 
to an eternal inheritance, which is incorruptible, undefiled, and 
that fadeth not away; forever reserved in heaven; in hope of 
eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the 
world began; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious 
appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Now who will believe and say that the event or advent de- 
scribed in Revelation xx. from the eleventh verse to the close of 
the chapter, occurs at the same period of time with those events 
which the prophets and apostles have set forth as quoted above; 
and that what the apostle says in Hebrews xi. 40, " that better 
thing which God has provided for us," means nothing more than 
the personal presence of Christ ? 

It must be borne in mind, that an interval of a thousand years 
(six times repeated, Rev. xx. 2-7) takes place between the 
binding of Satan and the reign of the saints with Christ, and the 
last judgment, called the second death, in the fourteenth verse. 
During this interval, all the dead in Christ have been in full pos- 
session of their promised inheritance (Ephesians i. 11, 14, 18; 
Acts xx. 32; Romans viii. 17; Galatians iii. 8; Colossians i. 
12, & iii. 23; Titus iii. 7; I. Peter i. 3, 4). 

With respect to the first position, it will be perceived that a 
thousand years intervened between the binding of Satan at the 
first resurrection, and the reign of the martyrs; and in regard to 
the expression of Paul in the fortieth verse, after noticing the 
patriarchs and prophets from Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, 
down to David and Samuel, and detailing at length their patience 
and sufferings for Christ, he closes the chapter thus : "And 
others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings; yea, more- 
over, of bands and imprisonment : they were stoned, they were 
sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they 
wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, 



REVIEW OF A SERMON. 285 

afflicted, tormented ("of whom the world was not worthy); they 
wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of 
the earth. And these all died in faith, having obtained a good, 
report through faith, but received not the promises; God having 
provided some better thing for us, that they without us should 
not be made perfect." 

Now who can believe that Paul ever had the most distant idea 
that the personal presence only of Christ was that better thing 
which God had provided for them — us? no! Paul would never 
have cast such a vile slander on those worthies, on that great 
cloud of witnesses, of whom he says the world was not worthy. 
He would not have put them so far in the background of this 
apostate gentile church. It would be utterly inconsistent with all 
his writings, and with the whole tenure of his life from the time 
he started for Damascus with a commission from the high priest, 
to make havoc in the church. No; he well knew, and had de- 
clared that he should not prevent or get the start of them in the 
possession of that eternal inheritance, that weight of glory which 
he fought, suffered and died to obtain. Paul did not take all that 
better thing to himself. No : his eye of faith was directed to the 
first resurrection, the glorified and triumphant church, when he 
and all the saints of God would be put into full possession of that 
better thing, the eternal inheritance, which his very soul was 
longing and waiting for. For, hear him : "It is a faithful saying, 
For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him; if we 
suffer for him, we shall also reign with him. For we know that 
if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my 
departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight; I have finished 
my course; I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto 
all them also who love his appearing." This was what Paul 
aimed at. 

That day has not yet arrived as to any of those patriarchs, 
prophets or martyrs, or to the apostles. Our catechism says, The 
souls of believers are at death made perfect in holiness, and do 
immediately pass into glory; their bodies, being still united to 
Christ, do rest in their graves until the resurrection. This is mil- 
lennial doctrine, believed and taught in the purest ages of the 
church. All the departed saints still sleep in Jesus until the re- 



286 APPENDIX. 

surrection; for then only are they raised up in glory, and openly 
acquitted and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God 
to all eternity. Here is the consummation of the great promise, 
which the apostle calls that better thing God had provided for 
them, the eternal inheritance which they all now enter into and 
upon. 

And thinkest thou, reader or preacher, that such as Paul the 
apostle would cast such a stigma on the departed saints of God, 
as to leave them as it were in the papal purgatory, while he was 
reaping the full harvest; and while they, if saved at all from the 
hay, wood and stubble, would be saved so as by fire only ? 
no! this was not Paul's doctrine. He had no occasion to resort to 
mathematical problems, to prove that the word now in scripture 
had no relation to time at all. — I close with a remark or two. 

Now I beg of those learned men, who have all knowledge as 
well as all faith, to examine one passage of Paul ( Hebrews i. 
6), and see whether it is strictly according to the original. Will 
it bear the test? Rather is not the following much nearer? 

"When he bringeth his first begotten again into the world, he 
saith, And let all the angels of God worship him" (verse 6). 

I mention this, because, as the interpretation now stands, it is 
thought to militate against Christ's second personal advent; and 
there are not wanting other similar perversions resorted to. The 
world is full of Nicodemuses, saying, How can these things be?" 
But the apostle Paul was no Nicodemus or sadducee. No : his 
epistle to the Hebrews shows the depth and extent of his system 
of theology. This epistle ought to be read and understood better 
than it is. 

No : Paul never resorted to the infidel quibble of a mathe- 
matical problem and diagram to get rid of the force of truth, 
or to set one portion of scripture against another, in order to 
neutralize the word of God, and render it self-contradictory, as is 
now become very common among most of the popular preachers, 
or our modern sadducees, who seem to study heathen and infidel 
philosophy much more than they do the bible; to dress up and 
embellish their discourses with such elegant tropes and figures, 
so as to please the popular throng. Thus the whole system of 
preaching is calculated to beget, in the minds of the great mass, 
a full conviction that an entire devotion to the world, and to the 
things of the world, is not incompatible with practical godliness; 
that they can both harmonize together, with perfect safety in 
regard to their future destiny. 



REVIEW OF A SERMON. 287 

Perhaps there is no portion of Holy Writ, that has, in so 
small a compass, such a height and depth, such a length and 
breadth of the worlds and ways of the revealed purposes of God 
in relation to this and the world to come, reaching from the 
beginning to the end of all things, as this last mentioned epistle 
of Paul the apostle, that faithful ambassador to the gentile world. 

Paul ! if you were now permitted to make us a visit, I fear 
you would have good cause to administer a similar rebuke to that 
given to the Philippians (iii. 18, 19) : "For many walk, of 
whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that 
they are the enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is de- 
struction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their 
shame, who mind earthly things." 

Look at the following quotations, and see if Paul was such a 
novice in theology as our modern sadducees would make him : 
Hebrews i. throughout; ii. 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14; iii. 6, 14, 18, 
19; iv. 2, 12, 15, 16; xii. 1-8, 28, 29. Romans xi. 13 to 
the end. 



288 



APPENDIX. 



LETTERS OF THE AUTHOR, 



TO HIS SIXTH DAUGHTER, 



BEING THE YOUNGEST OF NINE CHILDREN THEN LIVING. 



LETTER I. 



Albany, December 27, 1837. 
DEAR DAUGHTER, 

As you have requested me to write you something by way of 
instruction and edification, I can think of nothing at present in 
which we have a deeper interest, both for time and eternity, than 
the following train of thought, which has been suggested by a 
course of lectures on the book of Revelations, delivered by Mr. 
Martin; and more particularly on the 21st chapter, where 
heaven is described under the figure or emblem of a great and 
glorious city, the everlasting residence of the Church triumphant, 
where all the redeemed are made perfectly blessed in the full 
enjoyment of God, and where nothing shall ever interrupt their 
complete happiness through the endless ages of eternity. These 
and such like are the result of my reflections on the subject. 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 289 

"And the gates of this city shall not be shut at all by day." 
Doubtless there is much more implied or comprehended in these 
words than we can fully understand while in our present im- 
perfect state; but one thing we may be sure of, that as heaven 
is a building of God's own workmanship, prepared for its in- 
habitants from before the foundation of the world (for Christ will 
say to all the redeemed, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you), and as it is a very ancient city, 
built by an infinitely wise architect, there can be no defect in it 
or about it : it is the city of the Great King, who is surrounded 
with an innumerable company of holy and happy subjects; but 
without are dogs, and all the enemies of God and man, and 
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie; and yet the gates are not 
shut at all by day, and there is no night there. Now one would 
suppose that the gates would be shut, in order to separate be- 
tween such discordant elements as the righteous and the wicked 
are; but God's ways are infinitely above and beyond ours. 

Now if we are permitted to follow out a train of thought on 
the subject, which does not appear to be contrary either to scrip- 
ture or right reason, then something like the following is implied 
or comprehended in the chapter quoted, in regard to the glory 
and happiness of the church triumphant : That all the redeemed 
of the Lord are then brought home to their Father's house in 
heaven, and are put in full possession of those mansions which 
Christ, while on earth, said he was going to prepare for them, 
that where he was, there they might be also (John xiv. 1, 2). 
Being effectually called, justified, sanctified, and made meet for 
the heavenly inheritance, they are admitted into the general as- 
sembly and church of the firstborn, whose names are all written 
in the Lamb's book of life; and now they enjoy, in their own 
happy experience, the accomplishment of all the precious pro- 
mises which sustained them in all their trials and afflictions through 
their earthly course. They are now made perfectly blessed in the 
19 



290 APPENDIX. 

full enjoyment of God and the Lamb ; seeing him as he is in his 
glorified human nature, and not through the gloss of ordinances; 
but there, face to face, they know as they are known, at least in 
a very great degree, and as the Lamb is the light of heaven, the 
city of the Great King, which hath foundations whose builder 
and maker is God. And although this heavenly city, this New 
Jerusalem, was, in the counsel and purpose of God, prepared 
before the foundation or fabric of this world, yet it hath not 
waxed old, but is always new and flourishing; and since no sin 
or sorrow, or any unclean thing, shall ever be permitted to enter 
into it, therefore it is every way suited to the honour, glory and 
dignity of its holy inhabitants; to those who have washed their 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb ; to those 
who were the chosen and called of God, according to his eternal 
purpose. They are now, in the fullest sense of the word, heirs of 
God, and joint heirs with Christ; and therefore they are fully 
prepared for their heavenly inheritance, and this glorious mansion 
of God's own workmanship, this house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens; and all the saints of God, having put off 
this earthly house of their tabernacle, and being adorned with the 
robe of Christ's spotless righteousness, enter in through the gates 
into this New Jerusalem, as a bride adorned for her husband; 
and although heaven and earth have passed away in respect to 
their militant state on earth, yet they find, by their own happy 
experience, that not one jot or tittle of either the law or gospel 
has failed of its complete accomplishment. No; the redeemed 
now enjoy the full reward of that everlasting love and sovereign 
grace of God the Father, which was pledged to Christ in the 
everlasting covenant of redemption, that if he should make his 
soul an offering for sin, he should see his seed, and enjoy his 
purchased inheritance, which, as mediator, he was fully qualified 
for. He was also authorised to promise and bestow eternal life 
upon all given to him in that covenant : hence he says to them* 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 291 

while on earth, and to them only, "Fear not, little flock; for 
it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." — 
More hereafter. 

Now, dear daughter, if we, by the grace of God, are enabled 
to creep in under the covert of Emanuel's righteousness, then 
shall we be able to abide the day of His second coming as a 
refiner's fire. For there are now-a-days many Marthas, who are 
troubled and concerned about many things; while it is to be 
feared that comparatively there are but few Marys, who have 
chosen that good part that shall never be taken away : therefore 
be stedfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the 
Lord. E. Putnam. 



292 APPENDIX. 



LETTER II. 

Alb ant, January 15, 1838. 
DEAR DAUGHTER, 

I send you another scrawl; and if it should have no other effect 
than to excite to more diligence in the study of the scriptures, 
and the signs of the times, it will not be labour altogether in 
vain. 

I shall begin where I left off, that is, with Christ's little flock; 
little only by way of comparison with the ungodly multitude. 
Yes; the little flock of Christ, which shall inherit the kingdom 
of glory, will be a great multitude which no man can number. 
And this promise is applicable to all the redeemed out of every 
kindred, tongue, and people under the whole heavens; for, says 
Christ, "In my Father's house are many mansions : if it were 
not so, I would have told you. I will not deceive you. I go to 
prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also." 
And again, "Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given 
me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory 
which thou hast given me; and the glory which thou hast given 
me, I have given them, that they may be one even as we are 
one." 

Here will be assembled all the pious kings, magistrates, pa- 
triarchs, prophets, martyrs; yes, and all those worthies, who, 
through faith, subdued kingdoms, obtained promises, wrought 
righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions, etc. Now they are in 
the possession and enjoyment of those better things which God 
had in reserve for them (Hebrews xi. 39, 40). 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 293 

Heaven, therefore, is a great, glorious, and superlatively- 
splendid city : it is a kingdom, and, in all its parts and arrange- 
ments, does infinite honour to its Divine Architect and Builder. 
In it, Christ, the Lamb of God, sits upon the throne of his glory; 
for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light 
thereof; and the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the 
light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and 
honour into it. So that it is a great glorious scene and happy- 
place, abundantly sufficient for all the ransomed of the Lord; for 
all the vessels of mercy, which, in the eternal purpose of God, 
were before prepared unto glory; the excellent of the earth, 
God's jewels, his crown of rejoicing in the day when he makes 
them up. Heaven is also a very wealthy place; for, in the midst 
of the city there is a pure river of the water of life; and on each 
side, or on the banks, the tree of life; and the streets thereof, as 
it were, pure gold. 

Now I apprehend that no small share of the happiness of the 
saints in heaven will consist in their beholding the glory of God, 
Hence says Christ, "Father, I will that they also whom thou 
hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold 
my glory which thou hast given me ; and the glory winch thou 
hast given me, I have given them." Christ gave it to his disciples 
in promise : they had it by faith and hope; but now faith is lost 
in vision, and hope in fruition, in the complete enjoyment of the 
object and substance of faith and hope; for all grace bestowed 
or communicated by God to the christian in this world, will ter- 
minate in glory and happiness in the upper sanctuary. For while 
the anchor of hope is cast within the vail, and faith is in lively 
exercise, the child of God is daily approximating to the likeness 
of his Divine Redeemer, and in due time will be changed into 
the same image, from glory to glory; so that the grace of faith, 
hope, repentance, love, meekness, patience, shall all work in the 
believer, so as in the end they shall work out for him an ex- 
ceeding and an eternal weight of glory. 



294 APPENDIX. 

Now what was the glory which God the Father gave his co- 
equal and co-essential and co-eternal Son ? It could not be any 
of the essential attributes of deity; for these are underived, nei- 
ther can he be divested of one particle of them. Doubtless it was 
the glory of his mediatorial work which Christ has reference to, 
the great and glorious work of man's salvation; for Christ ac- 
knowledges that he received all his furniture or qualifications for 
going through with the work of redemption, from his Father. 
"A body hast thou prepared me," says Christ in reference to his 
incarnation; and being anointed with the Holy Spirit, above or 
without measure, he was every way abundantly qualified for his 
work of mediation. Yes, Christ Jesus, the God-man, whom God 
hath made strong for himself, that he might fully satisfy all the 
claims of his violated law, both in its preceptive and its penal 
parts; and when he expired on the cross, he was fully warranted 
in saying "It is finished;" and as an evidence that his work of 
redemption was accepted, he was raised from the dead, and set 
at God's right hand in the heaven. And all power in heaven and 
in earth being committed into his hands, he is not only almighty 
to save to the uttermost, but he is also equally mighty to destroy 
all his and our enemies; and although the wicked jews, in his 
crucifixion, intended nothing better than to send him packing off 
to hell, as one not fit to live in his own world, yet he proved 
himself too mighty for earth and hell combined, and has since 
convinced many, that although he was dead, yet he is alive 
again, and that for evermore, and holds the keys of hell and 
death; and he shutteth and no man openeth, and openeth and 
none shutteth. 

Now if we ask ourselves, What is that glory which Christ 
says he gives his people? (For he says to the Father, "And the 
glory which thou hast given me, I have given them.") Why, 
Christ, by his holy spotless life, by his painful and accursed 
death, his resurrection and ascension, brought life and immortality 
to light; so that he gives to all his people the glory of eternal 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 295 

life, both soul and body, all the glories of the upper sanctuary, 
to be in the immediate presence of God and the Lamb. And say, 
believer, is not this glory enough, when ye shall hear the angelic 
song, saying " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive 
power and riches, and wisdom and strength, and honour and 
glory and blessing; for thou hast redeemed us to God by thy 
blood, out of every kindred, tongue and nation" ? 

Dear daughter, let us use all diligence that we may take part 
with this blessed throng. E. Putnam. 



296 



APPENDIX. 



LETTER III. 

Albany, January 20, 1838. 
DEAR DAUGHTER, 

Yours of the 11th came to hand in ten minutes after I had put 
my second into the office; and I was very glad that you have 
had time, courage or inclination, or all together, to begin your 
task; for I shall impose a heavy tax on you this winter, as my 
mind has so far outrun this frail mortal part that I know not 
whether I shall ever overtake it, until this corruptible shall put 
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; 
but such as it is, you will tax your patience, and cogitate it over. 

I shall begin where I left off. I find, however, that I have 
anticipated you in relation to your views on the petitions to the 
legislature to abolish the christian sabbath, and the signs of the 
times, if we look around upon the horrid scenes of licentiousness, 
mobs, burnings and murders which are perpetrated in the land : 
therefore I referred you to the fifth chapter of Jeremiah, twenty- 
fifth verse onward; and, in connection with it, look at the twenty- 
eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, fifteenth verse to the end. 

In my last, I had been considering the power, glory, and 
majesty of Emanuel the King of glory, and the happiness of 
the saints in heaven. Such a mighty king, in comparison with 
which, what is all the glory and honour of earthly kings and 
nations, but mere rays or emanations reflected from the God of 
all glory! Yes, all the wisdom, power, riches and influence, 
which God has ever bestowed on man; yea, all his rational 
powers and faculties, are but so many talents put into his hand; 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER/ 297 

and whether they be employed in the service of God or in the 
service of the devil, the whole rational creation shall glorify him 
either actively or passively; for he hath created all things, and 
for his own glory they are and were created : all his works and 
all his ways shall ultimately redound to the glory of three-one 
God. Hence the question, What is the chief end of man? An- 
swer, Man's chief, his best, highest aim and end, is the glory 
of God, and the everlasting enjoyment of him as our never-failing 
portion in the upper sanctuary; and it cannot be otherwise, un- 
less man or some other creature be exalted above God, who is 
the author, the source, and fountain of all blessedness; but every 
true child of God will say, Give unto the Lord the glory due unto 
his name. "Not unto us, not unto us, Lord, but unto thy name 
be all the glory; and the nations of them that are saved shall 
walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their 
glory and honour into it, and shall bring the glory and honour of 
the nations into it." 

Yes, God will lose none of the glory and honour bestowed on 
kings and nations. God cannot be divested of one iota of his 
essential glory; but he imparts or bestows on men many and 
great temporal benefits, that they may show forth his declarative 
glory. This God requires from all, and this he will have, even 
from wicked men and devils : they shall glorify his justice, in 
their suffering the full penalty of his holy and righteous law. 
While all the redeemed, throughout eternity, will glorify his 
everlasting love, grace and mercy, in celebrating his praise, 
saying, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power 
and riches and wisdom, etc.; for they are all Christ's. Free men, 
they walk at liberty in the light of God and the Lamb, who is the 
personal visible light of heaven in his human nature. He sits upon 
the throne of his glory, administering strict justice and equity 
unto all. 

It is the glory of an earthly king to rule in the fear of God, to 
administer the government in righteousness and truth, so as to 
19* 



298 APPENDIX. 

promote the declarative glory of God, and the best interest and 
welfare of his subjects; and it is also the glory and honour of 
a nation to have such a king, since it is righteousness which 
exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people. So that 
all the good which pious kings, magistrates, etc. have been in- 
strumental in doing on earth, is but making a suitable return to 
God for the several talents put into their hands; as he who re- 
ceived five talents gained other five, and also he who received 
ten gained other ten. All will redound to the glory of God who 
gave it. These will be gems in the crown of the King of glory, 
when he shall come to be glorified in his saints; and although 
one star shall differ from another star in glory, yet every vessel 
of mercy shall be full to the brim. There will be no aching void 
left; for, says the man after God's own heart, Then shall I be 
satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness. For it doth not yet 
appear what we shall be; but we know, that when he shall ap- 
pear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 

In heaven, the saints shall behold what no mortal eye hath 
seen, or hath entered into the heart of man : the glorious things 
God hath prepared for them that love him, and are the called 
according to his eternal purpose; they being heirs of God, and 
joint heirs with Christ as their elder brother. Then they will be 
admitted into full possession of their glorious inheritance, and to a 
more clear, immediate, intellectual view of the person and glory 
of Christ, than what the martyr Stephen had, when he exclaimed 
c Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,' because he was not yet in a 
glorified state. He manifested the strength of his faith; but, in 
heaven, faith will be lost in vision, and hope in enjoyment. 

Christ, in Ms human nature, as the Lamb of God, is the light 
of heaven, the New Jerusalem, the city of the Great King : he 
is, if I may use the expression, the visible and glorious repre- 
sentative of heaven. "And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord 
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it; and the city 
had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 299 

glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; 
and the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there is 
no night there." And this would seem to be given as a reason 
why the gates are not shut. There is no night there : it is all 
light; all one perpetual day. God and the Lamb are there. God 
is light, and in his light the saints in heaven behold the glory of 
all the divine attributes; his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, 
goodness, mercy and truth. There they have a full view and 
demonstration of the free sovereign love and rich grace of God, 
in their election and predestination to life and glory; of their 
providential succour and protection, in every steep of their way 
up through the wilderness of this world, to their heavenly man- 
sions of glory . There they find, by their happy experience, that 
not one good thing of all which God hath promised has failed of 
its full and complete accomplishment. 

Now it would seem that a well built city would lack one 
essential constituent part, to be without gates; and yet to be 
furnished with a number of strong splendid gates, and yet never 
suffer them to be shut at all, would seem to involve a mystery 
which we are unable to comprehend. Since there will be no 
future accession to the numbers of this heavenly throng, the 
general assembly and church of the firstborn, whose names are 
all written in the Lamb's book of life, when they are all brought 
home to glory, it would seem that then would be the very time 
to close all the gates. But I must stop short. Patience and per- 
severance is an excellent grace : so remember that those only 
who hold out to the end shall obtain the crown of glory. 

E. Putnam. 



300 



APPENDIX, 



LETTER 17. 



Albany, January 30, 1838. 
DEAR DAUGHTER, 

In my last, I was compelled to stop short for want of room to 
finish a paragraph. We said that it would seem, when the re- 
deemed were all put in possession of their mansions in heaven, 
that the gates would then be shut; for without are dogs, and 
sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolators, and 
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. But God's ways are infinitely 
above and beyond our conceptions. Doubtless he has good reason 
for all his proceedings; and in due time he will make it manifest 
to an assembled universe, that infinite wisdom directed the whole, 
and that He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. 
But, as I before hinted, much of the happiness of the saints in 
glory will consist in beholding the glory of God, that glory which 
Christ had before the world was, and which God the Father gave 
to him as mediator, the glory of all the divine attributes; and it 
will be admitted that a person placed in any part of a city laid 
out in the form of a square, with gates on each side thereof, will 
be able to have in constant view the whole circle or hemisphere 
around him. Although I do not suppose heaven to be a material 
city, in the strict sense of the term, built of timber, stone, silver 
or gold : its whole description is emblematical, calculated to 
give us some faint conception of its majesty and glory; though 
I apprehend that heaven, in point of location, is a place, a fixed 
habitation, a place of rest, where all the redeemed of the Lord 
at the resurrection do rest from their labours, and their works do 
follow them. 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 301 

Now if we suppose that the redeemed in heaven are permitted 
to look through these gateways (or rather through those pearly- 
gates themselves, as each several gate is of one pearl, so trans- 
parent as not in the least to obstruct the view), they will have a 
most glorious unbounded range for mental contemplation; and 
that will doubtless add much to their happiness, to take such a 
comprehensive view of the ways and works of God. Now I say 
perhaps the saints in heaven are permitted to look through these 
gates, beyond and across that great gulf which lay between 
Abraham and the rich man in hell, into that lake of fire and 
brimstone, where all the wicked are tormented day and night, 
where the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. 
And as I have proposed, I will now attempt to give some reasons 
why the gates should not be shut at all. 

In the first place, these gates are left open, or rather repre- 
sented as not shut at all, that the blessed in heaven may have a 
more clear, visible, and glorious display of divine justice; that 
they may have an abiding sense and demonstration of the glory 
and the perfection of all the divine attributes; of that infinite 
wisdom which contrived and arranged the whole system of crea- 
tion, providence and redemption; of that almighty power which 
was able to execute all his eternal purposes; of his immaculate 
holiness, and abhorrence of sin; of his inflexible justice, first in 
punishing the person of his only beloved Son, as the substitute 
and surety of all that was given him in the covenant of redemp- 
tion. For God the Father received from Christ, in his perfect 
obedience to all the requirements of the law, and his sufferings 
unto the accursed death on the cross, all the righteousness of 
which his holy, righteous, and immutable law required; for had 
there been a defect, or deficiency of one iota of what both law 
and justice demanded of the sinner's surety, he would no more 
have been admitted into heaven than the traitor Judas; for God 
never accepts the will for the deed : even from his own beloved 
Son he would not abate the least particle. Says Christ, in re- 



302 APPENDIX. 

ference to some mitigation of the weight of wrath which was 
upon him, " Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." 
But it was not possible; therefore says he, "Not my will, but 
thine be done." And by that perfect righteousness which he 
wrought out, all his people are entirely and forever delivered 
from the curse of the law as a covenant. 

Christ, the Great Captain of salvation, trode the winepress of 
God's wrath alone, for he would not share the glorious work of 
man's salvation with man or angel; but although the work and 
all its merits are his exclusively, all of free sovereign grace, yet 
all his redeemed ones are made to share in the glorious rewards 
of his work of redemption; for, says he, "I am the good shep- 
herd, and give my life for the sheep." Yes, eternal life is the 
great and glorious reward of all the Saviour's toils and sufferings 
on earth. Hence the language of all the chosen and called of God, 
"Not unto us, not unto us, Lord, but unto thy name be all the 
glory." 

The saints in heaven behold not only the personal glory of 
Christ as the first fruits of his glorious exaltation, the beauty, 
harmony, and complete happiness of the whole heavenly hosts; 
but, the gates being open, they are permitted to look abroad 
through these pearly gates of the city, and to witness the ever- 
lasting destruction and banishment of all his incorrigible enemies, 
who have no part or lot with Christ : they shall be driven away 
from the presence of God and the Lamb, from his gracious im- 
mediate presence ; they shall be tormented, however, in the 
presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; 
they will behold the glory of God's justice, of his holiness, and 
of his truth. Although the wicked will be a great way off, the 
intellectual vision of the saints, in their glorified state, will be 
refined and purified from all imperfections, and their mental 
capacities for contemplation will be greatly enlarged : so also 
will the field of their vision be proportionately extended. 

Yes; as heaven is the most exalted and glorious city, built by 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 303 

God himself, built for his own adopted children, we may be sure 
that it affords a most glorious prospect to all its blessed inhabit- 
ants. Each several gate is of one pearl; and doubtless they are 
transparent, for the very streets of the city are pure gold, as it 
were transparent glass. Now were the gates shut, it would seem 
to abridge in some measure that perfect liberty and happiness 
which the saints enjoy in heaven; for in God's presence is life, 
and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore. 

In heaven the saints will have a most glorious view : they will 
there see every attribute of the Divine Creator fully vindicated, 
and that mercy and truth and righteousness and peace all har- 
monize at the great day of judgment, when Christ shall sit upon 
the throne of his glory, and a final separation be made between 
the sheep and the goats. Then shall the righteous be ever with 
the Lord, "and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; 
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, 
neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are 
passed away." That is, the militant state of the church on earth 
has come to an end : all things are new to them; for they shall 
hunger no more, neither thirst any more; for the Lamb, which 
is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them 
unto living fountains of waters. 

Now, the Lord of hosts, who is the King of glory, having 
put all enemies under his feet, having taken possession of his 
heavenly palace, surrounded by all the holy happy throng in 
heaven, therefore he wills to have the gates thrown open: which 
is the best of all possible reasons. And further, he will not make 
a prison house of his palace, as though he were in danger from 
any foreign foe; but he will reign and order the affairs of his 
kingdom in presence of all his enemies, to all eternity. 

And now, dear child, may we and all ours be able, on good 
scriptural ground, to say each for him or herself, with the apostle, 
that " by the grace of God I am what I am, and that his grace 
was not bestowed in vain." E. Putnam. 



304 APPENDIX. 



LETTER V. 

Albany, February 1G, 1838. 
DEAR DAUGHTER, 

My second reason why the gates shall not be shut at all, is, that 
it is a time of general peace. After the resurrection, Christ, as the 
King in Zion, the head of all principalities and powers, was to 
reign until all his enemies were subdued, or made his footstool. 
And this Great Captain of salvation, having spoiled principalities, 
gained a cemplete victory, and turned all his and our enemies 
into hell, he now leads, as a mighty conqueror, all his faithful 
followers from the field of victory to their mansions of everlasting 
rest, peace and glory in heaven; and there is no enemy, within 
or without, that can harm them in the least. 

Man's sin did not abrogate the covenant of works : no; his 
sin only brought him under the curse; and the justice of God 
holds him under arrest, subject to its fearful penalty. For all the 
finally impenitent reject the only way of salvation through the 
merits of Christ; but they would have heaven and eternal life by 
their own merits or works, and enter into life by keeping the 
commandments; but they have been weighed in an impartial 
balance and found wanting, and are now set at work by the Great 
Judge of the quick and the dead. Yes, they are now, each for 
him or herself, working it out in that lake of fire where the worm 
dieth not and the fire is not quenched, and that too in the pre- 
sence of the saints. They both see and experience the justice of 
God glorified, in keeping them at work to all eternity; for they 
have no rest day nor night. 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 305 

Oh! what a mighty crashing will there be when the last trump 
shall sound, and all are summoned to judgment! Not only among 
the heathen gods and goddesses, but also among protestant ido- 
lators and man-worshippers; all will then be found to have spent 
their days in working for wages, which they now find, to their 
shame and everlasting contempt, to be nothing less than the 
wages of sin, the second death : while the saints have all entered 
into their everlasting rest in heaven ; they rest in the unchange- 
able love of a redeeming God, their exceeding great reward and 
everlasting portion, who himself has both worked in them, and 
worked out for them an exceeding and an eternal weight of 
glory. 

Therefore it may be a good reason why the gates are not shut 
at all; since God has other employment for the devil and his 
angels, and all the wicked, than to tempt, to harass, and to 
murder his people any longer. God now requires of them the 
uttermost farthing of their debt to divine justice. As he would not 
abate any thing from his beloved Son as surety for those whom 
he represented in the covenant of redemption, so neither will he 
abate the least iota from the debt of the wicked to his inflexible 
justice. He will keep them at work, treading the winepress of his 
wrath, where there will be weeping, and gnashing of teeth for 
ever and ever. 

A third reason why the gates of heaven shall not be shut at 
all, is, that God is a consuming fire to all the workers of iniquity; 
therefore by the very attributes of his nature, his holiness, truth 
and justice, the wicked are forever excluded from his gracious 
presence in heaven. So that nothing which is unholy, or that 
defileth, can come within the bounds which he in his sovereign 
good pleasure shall prescribe; for the very fiat of the Great and 
Glorious Judge is sufficient to fix them at an eternal distance of 
separation from all the holy and happy throng in heaven. " For 
the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as 
the fat of lambs : they shall consume; into smoke shall they 
20 



306 APPENDIX. 

consume away." Yes, they shall forever be consuming; yet they 
shall never be annihilated, "for their worm dieth not, and the 
fire is not quenched, for the smoke of their torment ascendeth up 
for ever and ever." So that instead of attempting to annoy or to 
interrupt the happiness of heaven, they would, if permitted, get 
quite out of sight of heaven, of God, and of the Lamb upon his 
throne; for the glory of heaven, and the unspeakable happiness 
of the saints, will, no doubt, constitute one of the bitterest in- 
gredients in their cup of sufferings, the sight and sense of what 
they have lost by their own inventions in a wilful rejection of the 
righteousness of God, being too proud to accept eternal life as a 
free gift. And now in a state of despair, they are represented as 
calling on the rocks and mountains to fall on them, and to hide 
them from the glory of God and from the wrath of the Lamb ; 
while the saints, on the other hand, are filled with love, adoring 
wonder, and admiration at all which the Lamb of God has wrought 
out for them : all which redounds to the glory of the Triune God. 

Christ says to his disciples, "As my Father hath appointed 
unto me a kingdom, so I appoint unto you a kingdom;" and as 
there are many mansions in this kingdom, he says, "I go to 
prepare a place for you, that where I am ye may be also." His 
declaration to Mary at the sepulchre is, "I ascend to my Father 
and to your Father, to my God and to your God." His ascension 
and entrance into heaven is celebrated by the psalmist, saying, 
"Lift up your heads, ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye ever- 
lasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." And this is 
reported to give the greater assurance, that is, of his final triumph 
in the mighty work of man's salvation. So the man Christ Jesus, 
as a mighty conqueror, while the heavenly gates and everlasting 
doors are thrown open, enters as the first fruits of them that sleep, 
and shall sleep until the resurrection day. 

Christ, in Ins human nature, enters within the vail as the saints* 
forerunner, to take possession of those mansions which he said, 
while on earth, he would prepare for them. And on what more 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 307 

grand and important occasion could the heavenly gates and 
everlasting doors be thrown open, than in that august and solemn 
event when Christ entered heaven in his glorified human nature? 
For he is the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, 
the Lord of hosts : he is the King of glory. Yes, this mighty 
conqueror has, for the first time, opened that which no man can 
shut, that is, heaven : but hereafter he will shut, and no man, 
angel or devil, shall be able to open, that is, hell, where all the 
wicked will be confined; and in this confinement of the wicked 
consists the liberty and safety of all the heavenly hosts. 

Heaven and hell, I suppose, have, in one sense, been open 
since the entrance of sin into the world. Heaven has ever been 
open for the admission of the spirits of the just made perfect; for 
they do, at death, immediately enter into glory, and are blessed 
in the enjoyment of God; but there is a much higher and more 
glorious sense, in which heaven was opened, when Christ the 
King of glory rose from the dead, as the resurrection and the 
life, to take possession of his throne of glory and of judgment. 
And at the general resurrection, when the souls and bodies of all 
the saints shall be reunited, then heaven will be opened for them 
in the same sense it was for their Great Captain of salvation, their 
elder brother, who holds the keys of hell and death. Then all 
those who are found on the left hand of the judge shall go away 
into everlasting punishment; and then he will shut, and none shall 
be able to open; and, having cleared the field of all enemies, he 
will say to those on the right hand, " Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you." 

My fourth and last reason why the gates of heaven shall not 
be shut at all, is, because hell is shut, never to be opened; and 
all the wicked are shut up in it, and shut too by Him who is the 
alpha and omega, the beginning and the ending, which is and 
which was and which is to come, the Almighty. " I am he that 
liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, 
amen ! and have the keys of hell and of death, and shut and no 



308 APPENDIX. 

man openeth." The wicked Balaam's prediction will then be 
verified : "I shall see Him, but not now : I shall behold Him, 
but not nigh." Yes, he will see Christ, the root and offspring of 
David, the bright and morning star; but it will not be nigh, but 
afar off : as the rich man in hell saw Abraham afar off, and 
Lazarus in his bosom. Then shall all the Pharaohs, Nebuchad- 
nezzars, and all the wicked potentates of the earth, both feel and 
know, to their everlasting shame and contempt, who the God of 
holiness and truth is. E. Putnam. 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 309 



LETTER VI. 



Albany, March 28, 183S. 
DEAR DAUGHTER, 

Yours of the 22d came duly to hand; and, as you say, so say 
I : ' Better late than never.' For you have given a receipt in 
full, and so squared up all old scores. Well, I like short reckon- 
ings, because they make long friends. You will remember that 
to acknowledge the receipt of a letter, and to answer the contents 
of it, are two things : the first is a mere matter of courtesy; the 
other rests with the will and judgment of the party to whom the 
letter is addressed. However, I am willing for the future to take 
the will for the deed. Had I continued to trust, I should have in- 
creased the account considerably; but doubtless you have already 
as much of one subject as you can well digest for the present. I 
have therefore another at hand, that is a pot of pickles or sweet- 
meats, whichever you may please to call it; but as you cannot 
bear it just now, it shall be forthcoming in due time, providence 
permitting. 

I trust you have employed much of your time this winter in 
treasuring up a stock of bible knowledge, and that you have 
shared largely in christian experience, and fellowship with Christ 
the Saviour of sinners, and the saints; that all the family may 
participate in the heavenly gifts; and that all outward trials and 
afflictions may be so blessed and sanctified, as not only to work 
in you, but also to work out for you a blessed inheritance, in- 
corruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away, but eternal in 
the upper sanctuary of a Redeeming God. E. Putnam. 



310 APPENDIX. 



LETTER VII. 



Albany, August 12, 1S38. 
DEAR DAUGHTER, 

Peradventure I may not see you again, until you shall, by a 
holy and divine ordinance of God, have become a lawful wedded 
wife; and in the day and hour in which that shall take place, you 
will also become the reputed or legal mother of five children. 
Ah! and what a solemn and responsible station you will then 
occupy! Since besides the common and ordinary cares of do- 
mestic life when first entering into wedlock, you will have five 
children committed to your care as a mother; and it will be 
your duty to watch over them, to cultivate all their intellectual, 
moral and spiritual powers and faculties, and to endeavour, to 
the utmost of your power, to train them up in the nurture and 
admonition of the Lord. These obligations will devolve on you so 
long as they are under your care; and as your charge will be 
peculiar in its character, so also will its duties be arduous and 
trying; so that you may be led to say, Who is sufficient for these 
things? But ever keep in mind the gracious and timely promise: 
"My grace," says the Saviour, "is sufficient for you." And He 
who hath promised, is able also to make all grace abound unto 
those who ask in faith. 

Now as you may be obliged immediately to enter upon the 
practical duties of a family, although not as the head (for that 
by a divine constitution belongs to the man), yet in some sense 
it may devolve on you. I mean in regard to family religion : 
you may be obliged to take the lead, rather than it should be a 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 311 

stranger in the family altogether; for although your partner may 
be, in all other respects, one of the kindest and best of husbands, 
yet I trust you will never be satisfied, as a mother and a, mistress 
of a household, to live without family religion. Should it devolve 
on you, I hope you will not shrink from the duty; and although 
in this case you may be ready to exclaim, 'Who is sufficient for 
these things?' why, take the apostle for your guide, and say 
with him " I can do all things through Christ strengthening me." 
There, and there only is your sufficiency to be found : yes, all 
your support and all your consolation ; for it is out of his fulness 
you are to receive grace, and strength to help in every time of 
need. Even out of the mouths of babes and sucklings he is able 
to perfect wisdom and strength for every duty, as well as for 
every trial in the christian life. 'Ask and ye shall receive,' is 
the promise. God is never better pleased than when his children 
importune him for grace and strength in the path of duty, to 
help them forward towards Zion. Only see that you are always 
within the line of commanded duty, and let God take care of the 
consequences : that is his prerogative; the duty only is ours. I 
have confidence, from the early instructions which your partner 
received from christian parents, that his mind has been imbued 
with serious impressions of moral and religious obligations to 
God, and all the relative duties of life which those obligations 
bring us under; and therefore I trust (hat you will not long be 
left alone in that branch of family duty, but that you both may be 
joined together in the same mind, and in the same spirit, walking 
together as heirs of the grace of life. Such a course, if persevered 
in, will render family government both pleasant and efficient, 
make children more obedient and more affectionate, save a deal 
of turmoil and contention, and preserve the dignity and character 
of the parents, together with peace and harmony throughout the 
whole household. 

I have thrown out these observations, in order to prepare the 
way for entering upon the practical part of your new and untried 



312 APPENDIX. 

relation of domestic life, to wit, that of a good housekeeper, one 
that looks well to her own household; a good economist; a good 
governess, one that maintains the dignity, consistency, and au- 
thority of a parent; a tender and affectionate mother, striving to 
live up to your high and holy calling, so that through divine 
grace you may finally attain to the honorable appellation of a 
mother in the true Israel of God. And here let me bring to your 
mind the solemn and affecting case you lately heard from the 
pulpit; what the lovely and accomplished danghter said to her 
mother while on her deathbed, and in great agony for her soul. 
Ah! when I look around me, and see so many parents, wearing 
themselves as it were in the very fire, to adorn the bodies of their 
children, that they may make a gaudy appearance in this fashion- 
able world, almost to the entire neglect of their immortal souls, 
I say to myself that they are sowing to the wind, and are in a 
fair way to reap a whirlwind of sore affliction and chastisements 
for their neglect of parental duty to their children. 

You will ever bear in mind, that no principle or system of 
government, however good, will avail any thing, unless it be 
carried out in all its length and breadth through life; for prin- 
ciple without practice is like faith without works : dead, being 
alone, as the apostle says. To expect the end without the use of 
appropriate means, the effect without the cause, is worse than 
infidel. 

Now to live fully up to your high calling in the various 
relations of domestic life, will require no ordinary share of 
strengthening grace, as well as of moral and intellectual qua- 
lifications. Your first effort, therefore, to render family govern- 
ment practical, pleasant and efficient, will be, by a mild and 
affable deportment, to gain the confidence of the children, and 
also of all those domestics that come under your authority. If 
this object be attained, then obedience to all lawful commands 
will be prompt and cheerful, flowing from a principle of love 
and affection of the inferior to the superior as a divine ordinance, 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 



313 



that parents should train up their children in the way which they 
should go, and that children should obey their parents in all 
things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. 

The requisite qualifications for efficient government are, first, 
deliberation, a sound discriminating judgment. A good share of 
prudence, fortitude, patience, kindness, meekness, and perseve- 
rance unto the end, are important qualifications in a head of a 
family, in order to secure and retain the confidence and affection 
of children and domestics. You will therefore see the necessity 
of convincing them that you recognize a natural equality in the 
whole human family, and that all the inequalities in society are 
in the divine appointment of God. The difference consists in the 
station each one occupies in society, such as husband and wife, 
parent and child, master and servant, superior and inferior, ruler 
and ruled; but by nature we all stand on a level, for God hath 
made of one blood all flesh. There is no difference by nature; 
therefore let your authority be exercised with all the meekness 
and gentleness adapted to the mental capacity of the subject, to 
the wise as wise, and to the weak and feeble as weak and feeble. 
This, I apprehend, is the sense in which the apostle is to be 
understood, when he says he was made all things to all men, 
that he might gain the more : not that he was to connive at any 
iniquity, but he took that course to remove prejudice from the 
minds of his audience, and thereby secure their attention and 
confidence the more effectually; and what better example can 
you have, than the great apostle of the gentiles? Let this maxim 
be followed up, and followed out by much reflection, meditation^ 
and communion with your God and Saviour, who is able to make 
all grace abound unto the weakest child of his love. 

Although it will be your duty, as a parent, to admonish, re- 
prove, and rebuke with all long suffering and patience; yet let 
your children and domestics know, by your cool, calm, consistent 
walk before your household, that you are consulting their best 

interests for time and eternity; and that it is the parent's pre- 

20 * 



314 APPENDIX. 

rogative to determine, in all cases, as to the choice and course 
of the child's conduct; since the parent is held, by God, re- 
sponsible for the moral character they may form in life, for good 
or for bad. See what sore chastisement good old Eli got for his 
neglect of parental duty! His sons made themselves vile in the 
sight of the Lord, and he did not restrain them, and he smarted 
sorely for it; although he was not accountable for their innate 
depravity, yet as he did not restrain them in their outward con- 
duct, he was highly culpable, and he suffered severely for it. 

Ah! my heart is often grieved to think of the bitter remorse, 
the self-reproach, and the anguish of soul which many a parent, 
at the present day, is preparing for a dying hour, through a mis- 
taken view of their obligations to God in regard to their children; 
their unremitting efforts, and their indulgence in giving a loose 
rein to the unsubdued and uncultivated passions and appetites of 
their children, at almost an^ expense, so that they may excel, or 
make a good appearance in this vain, giddy, fashionable world, 
almost to the entire neglect of the one thing needful, the care of 
the soul and family religion. This evil in society arises from the 
influence of that tyrant called fashion or popularity, which holds 
most of the present generation in abject bondage to sin and 
slavery; for such is the present system of education, in the higher 
branches especially. It is calculated to foster pride, both in pa- 
rents and in children : it leads parents to extravagant indnlgence 
of their children in all the popular habits and customs of a vain, 
licentious age; and, as like begets like, the children grow up in 
a vain conceit of themselves, and hence they claim unbounded 
indulgence in all their youthful passions and appetites. This often 
ruffles and irritates the parents' mind, and tends to lead them 
into an unguarded, hasty, passionate system of family govern- 
ment, or rather it destroys all good government ; for where 
family government is brought into contempt thiough the in- 
consistency of the parent, there is little else that takes place in 
such a house, but a continual turmoil and contention, of mutual 



LETTERS TO A DAUGHTER. 315 

crimination and recrimination; so much so, that in some families 
you wiU not, for weeks, perhaps for months, hear one pleasant, 
deliberate, cool, calm, tender, affectionate expression from either 
of the contending- parties. 

how very sinful in a parent, to be constantly threatening to 
whip a child for disobedience, and take no further notice of it ! 
Not make good their promise in one case out of twenty, but al- 
ways paying off old scores with new promises; so that if the 
child be interrogated after an act of disobedience, thus, "Did I 
not tell you, that if you did so again, I would surely whip you?" 
"Yes," the child may answer in a faltering tone; but if he be 
permitted, to tell the whole truth, he would say to many a parent, 
"You have told us so an hundred times, and we got no whipping 
for all that; and my only defence is, that you forfeited your 
word so often, that I had no reason to believe that you meant 
what you said." 

This is a sure way to bring family government into contempt: 
it is so sinful, it is more like a lying school for children, than a 
school of moral parental instruction. Better, a thousand times 
better, let a hundred acts of disobedience pass unnoticed, than to 
make one false and deceitful promise never to be made good. 
Such a course is directly calculated to harden a child in dis- 
obedience and sin; to impress on the mind, that there is no dif- 
ference between truth and falsehood, between virtue and vice. 
Therefore avoid the habit of threatening altogether : it is utterly 
incompatible with good family government as a divine ordinance; 
but rather set before your children their moral obligations to God, 
and all the relative duties which devolve upon both parents and 
children. Press these things upon their minds, and then you have 
a warrant to look for, and to expect the blessing of God upon 
all your efforts in thus training your children in the way in which 
they should go. 

And what is a more glorious sight to behold, than the united 



316 APPENDIX. 

heads of a religious family thus training and leading their chil- 
dren and domestics in that path of the just, which is as the shining 
light that shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day; and 
to attain which, will much more than compensate for a long life 
of unremitted toil and self-denial ! Therefore be stedfast, im- 
movable; always abounding in the work of the Lord, inasmuch 
as your labour shall not be in vain in the land. 

From your affectionate father, 

E. Putnam. 



LETTER. 



317 



LETTER. 



[ The following letter was written by the sixth daughter who was the 
subject of the foregoing letters, to her sister, then suffering under 
bodily sickness.] 



TO HARRIET BROWER. 

Albany, October 22, 1843. 
DEAR SISTER, 

My mind has been all day dwelling upon you ; and I feel that, 
"though absent in the body, I am present in the spirit" with 
you, and it seems a privilege that I can sit down and pour out 
my thoughts on paper : whether you will deem them worthy a 
perusal, I cannot determine; but I feel so exceedingly anxious 
about you, that I cannot refrain from giving some expression to 
my feelings. 'Tis not anxiety about your comfort, your temporal 
wants; for that I know is needless : nor, indeed, do I feel any 
apprehension that you are not prepared for that great event which 
we have so much reason to fear awaits you; but, my dear sister, 
I want to have more than this. I want to have you enjoy all the 
comforts and privileges of our blessed religion; and may we not 
attain to more than a hope of a joyful resurrection? Oh yes ! 
blessed be God, we may. It was the expression of a saint of old, 
and so may you say, with all his confidence, " I know that 
my Redeemer liveth; and though after my skin, worms destroy 
this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God." Oh ! then, strive to 
triumph over death; to rejoice in the prospect of that hour 



318 APPENDIX. 

when you shall be called from this world of sorrow and suffering, 
to inhabit that mansion which your Saviour has gone to prepare 
for you, and to which He stands ready to welcome you. And 
what is there to hinder you from doing this ? Nothing, believe 
me, but the weakness of your faith, and the temptations of that 
adversary who is ever at hand to draw us aside from the path of 
duty and happiness. Do you feel your unworthiness of the mercy 
and favour of God? So much the better; for then you will give 
all the glory of your redemption and salvation to Him to whom 
it alone belongs; and you ought to love Him, and rejoice so 
much the more that He has of His own free mercy chosen you, 
called you, justified you, and began in you that glorious work of 
sancti fixation which will be perfected in that hour when He takes 
you to Himself. Away, then, with all your doubts; break through 
the clouds which are around you, that the Sun of righteousness 
may shine upon you, and give you peace and joy. " Set all your 
house in order;" and then make it your constant aim to rise 
above the things of time, and to glorify Him who has done so 
much for you. 

Think not, my dear sister, that I do not appreciate your suf- 
ferings : very much mistaken are you, if you suppose me in- 
different to these. Most deeply and truly do I sympathize with 
you in all your trials of body as well as mind; and it is because 
of this, that I want you to have all the comfort and happiness it 
is possible for you to obtain. And, after all, "What are the 
sufferings of this present life, compared with the glory which 
awaits you?" Oh! that glorious world; who does not pant to 
be there ! 

" '}.Iid the chorus of the skies; 
• 'Mid the angelic lyres above : 

Hark ! their songs melodious rise ; 
Songs of praise to Jesus' love ! 

Happy spirits ! ye are fled, 
Where no grief can entrance find ; 



LETTER. 319 

Lull'd to rest the aching head ; 
Sooth'd the anguish of the mind. 

All is tranquil and serene, 
Calm and undisturb'd repose : 

There no cloud can intervene ; 
There no angry tempest blows. 

Every tear is wiped away ; 
Sighs no more shall heave the breast. 

Night is lost in endless day ; 
Sorrows in eternal rest." 

You may think it presumptuous in me to address you as I have 
done; but do not mistake my motives. 'Tis not that I think I can 
say anything which you do not already know; but there is only 
this advantage on my part : I am in the enjoyment of health; 
while you are prostrated by disease, and therefore have not the 
same control over your thoughts which you would have under 
other circumstances. 

And now, my dear sister, " May the Lord bless you with all 
spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord; may He lift up the 
light of His countenance upon you, and give you peace," is my 
fervent prayer; and if, in His wise providence, we are not per- 
mitted to meet again in this world, yet 

" There is a spot where spirits blend, 
Where friend holds fellowship with friend : 
Though sunder'd far, by faith we'll meet 
Around one common mercy seat. 
There is a place where Jesus sheds 
The oil of gladness on our heads : 
A place than all besides more sweet ; 
It is the blood-bought mercy seat. 

Most truly and sincerely your affectionate sister, 

Note. She died in a few days after this letter was received. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 
THE CRISIS. 

Chap. 1. Present and future state of the church 1 

Ohap. 2. Unfulfilled prophecies 11 

Chap. 3. The deluge of wrath to the impenitent 20 

Chap. 4. Time to favour Zion 28 

Chap. 5. Scriptural views of the restitution of all things 36 

Chap. 6, 7, 8. The covenant of promise, and voice of the church 

in the three first centuries 45, 53, 61 

Chap. 9 & 10. Signs of the times 70, 79 

Chap. 11, 12, 13. The practical morality of life 87, 95, 102 

Chap. 14 to 18. The second advent of Christ, the restoration of 

the Jews, and the first resurrection, 112, 120, 128, 136, 144 

Chap. 19. A brief sketch of the future glory of the church 153 

Chap. 20. The judgment at Christ's second advent is not the last 

judgment 162 

Chap. 21 to 26. Scriptural arguments for millennial doctrine.. 171, 

179, 187, 194, 202, 210 

Chap. 27. The second advent and kingdom of Christ 220 

Chap. 28. On the first resurrection 231 

APPENDIX. 

No. 1. Thoughts on the extent and certainty of saltation 241 

No. 2. A letter on the subject of freemasonry 247 

No. 3. Reflections on national sins 260 

No. 4. Influence of freemasonry, etc 272 

No. 5. A short review of a sermon 278 

Seven letters to a daughter 288, 292, 296, 300, 304, 309, 310 

Letter from HMI toMBBSB 317 



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